Brothers and Sisters
by Li Ying Fa
Summary: UPDATED 05907: So, what was going on with everyone else? Warning: This is a HeeroRei story mainly.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything so don't sue me.

* WARNING * I'm really sick of the Usagi gets betrayed by the inners stories so there is some Usagi-bashing in this story (very little, with good reason). I have also changed the histories of the senshi slightly so if you want to flame me, go ahead, but I'm not changing anything. This IS a Heero/Rei story so if you don't like those, go away. The rest of the guys and senshi, I'm open to suggestions, so when you review, say who you want to see together.

The title comes from the song on the Roswell soundtrack, listen to it, its really good.

Ages:

Senshi (Inners)-18

GW guys-20

Hotaru-17 (she caught up with the Inners)

On with the story…

Brothers and Sisters

Prologue

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The senshi sat nervously, gathered at Haruka and Michiru's mansion. They had every right to be nervous, Setsuna had been the one to call the meeting. She generally only brought news of death and destruction so all of the senshi were on edge as to why exactly she wanted to see all of them. Once everyone was settled, Setsuna rose gracefully, her expression somber. "Thank you all for coming today," she began, "I have some news that will come as a shock and will hurt most, if not all of you. Before I begin my story, I ask that you not interrupt until I am completely finished."

Looking around, she received nods of consent before she continued on with her story, "After the fall of the Moon Kingdom, as you all know, Queen Serenity sealed you into crystals and sent you to Earth's future to be reborn. What you didn't know is that a few of the crystals went astray in the timelines. I managed to retrieve most back to the proper flow but two managed to slip past me. Two of you were reborn far into the future, into one family as sisters. It took me over five years to track the two of you down and when I did, I found you both happy and healthy in a loving home, surrounded by family. If it had been up to me, I would have allowed you to stay, but the Negaverse was already showing signs of returning and I had my orders. I am ashamed to say this, but I kidnapped you from your family and brought you here so you could fulfill your destinies as senshi. I altered the memories of you and your new families, but was unable to do the same to your true family. I hadn't realized I had crossed both the temporal and dimensional boundaries, therefore I was weakened."

Here Setsuna paused and looked up, her garnet eyes filled with shame and remorse, "I'm sorry Rei, Hotaru. I hope one day you can forgive me."

Rei and Hotaru sat in shock, absorbing the huge news Setsuna had just given them. Slowly, as it began to sink in, both girls' violet eyes turned cold, emotionless. "Who were we?" Rei asked, her voice containing a hardness none of the senshi had heard her use before.

"Rei, your name was Chang Houyan and Hotaru, you were Chang Ziyi. Your parents were named Xiao Lang and Mei Jing. You have an older brother named Wufei. He's about two years older than you are Rei."

"Why Setsuna," Hotaru demanded, "Why tell us? Why now?"

Setsuna flinched at the coldness in the voice of the girl she considered a daughter. "There are no more threats left until Crystal Tokyo is formed and I couldn't leave it like this."

Rei's infamous temper flared into existence. "There are no threats left?" she yelled, "Is that it? That's what our entire existence is about isn't it? Duty. It's our job to make sure the princess has everything. Love, power, protection, family. We have to give up everything for her. For what? An eternity of watching her be happy with her love, her family, her kingdom. What about us?"

At this point, Rei crumpled into a heap on the floor, sobbing, "I have a sister and a brother. I had family, I was wanted."

Hotaru knelt down beside her and wrapped an arm around her. The rest of the senshi arranged themselves around the two girls, unsure of what to do. Mamoru had his arm wrapped around Usagi, who was weeping uncontrollably at both the news and Rei's harsh words. "I swear I didn't know," Usagi cried, "I didn't know!"

Hotaru, angry at everything, turned to face her princess. "Didn't know or didn't want to know?" she snapped out coldly, "You were too wrapped up in your perfect life, with your perfect family, your perfect boyfriend and your perfect future. You never noticed anything we've suffered. We've died for you more than once and you don't know anything about us. You never knew Rei's supposed 'father' abused her, causing her grandfather to take custody of her. You never knew that Minako was bulimic up until two years after she became a senshi. You never knew that Ami doesn't speak about her father because she and her mother are in hiding from him after he began stalking them violently after her parents divorced. Her last name isn't even Mizuno. You never knew that Makoto was almost date raped by her former sempai. You never knew that Haruka and Michiru had been thrown out by their own families simply because they loved one another. No princess, you took everything you saw at face value, believing that since you were happy, so was everyone else."

Usagi looked as though someone had slapped her in the face. The other senshi seemed to be frozen on the spot, unable to do anything but gape at the unfolding situation. Finally, Rei broke the silence. "Setsuna," she said, "I want to go back, to my real home. I want to find my family."

Hotaru nodded to show her agreement. "You owe us that much Setsuna. Let us discover who we were, are."

The other inner senshi had been quietly discussing amongst themselves. "Setsuna," Minako said, "If you agree to this and Rei and Hotaru do not mind, we wish to see this dimension as well. Also, we feel that we might…benefit…from some time away from Serenity-Hime."

Usagi winced at the use of her formal title. Setsuna looked to Rei and Hotaru who nodded their acceptance of these terms. Next, she turned her gaze towards her princess, garnet meeting blue and said, "Very well, you'll leave tomorrow morning. You have tonight to pack and say your good-byes. I'll arrange for a house, money, schooling and any other necessities you'll be needing. We'll meet back here at 9:00 am."

With that, Setsuna disappeared through a portal, back to the time gate. With her departure, all of the others made moves to leave. "You all hate me don't you?" Usagi asked miserably, "That's why you're all leaving me." 

"Usagi-san," Rei managed to say, "We're angry, very angry right now. We've just been told our entire lives have been a lie. We need to discover who we are. Without you."

"Do you all feel this way?" Mamoru demanded, trying to ease his love's pain. 

He was met with silence, but the way the senshi either openly glared at him or studiously avoided his gaze was answer enough. "Mamoru-kun," Minako said, coming up to him, "We all do love Serenity-hime, but its not enough. You both have to understand that we need this. Its up to you and the Outers to protect her from now on."

"Will you return?" Usagi asked, hope evident in her eyes.

"We shall see," Rei said in a monotone, her voice flat and emotionless.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yay! Read and Review PLZ. No Chapter one and GW cuties unless I get at least 10 reviews. Don't forget to vote on the couples. And read my newest chapter to Circle of Elements. This is my first crossover so be gentle in the reviews. Thanks.

Ying Fa. 


	2. Answers and More Questions

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. If I did, would I really be writing fanfic?

Author's Notes: Umm, just a warning, there is little to no Usagi or Mamoru in this story. Also, if you're a fan of Relena, you should probably look elsewhere. This IS a Heero/Rei story so no other pairs for them will be considered. I still haven't decided who the others will be with so remember to vote with your reviews.

As far as I recall, the poll stands:

Minako/Quatre-2

Minako/Wufei-1

Ami/Wufei-1

Hotaru/Trowa-1

Hotaru/Duo-1

Makoto/Trowa-1

And there you have it. Remember to vote!

On with the story…

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter One- Answers and More Questions

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the time that had passed between the senshi meeting of last evening and early this morning, a great deal had changed. Using magic, the memories of the people around the senshi were erased, making it seem as though they had never existed in this dimension. Setsuna assured them that it could be reversed if they decided to return but for now it was a more viable option than trying to explain away their absences. So the girls had packed and were once more gathered at the mansion of the outers.

"So I guess this is it, huh guys?" Usagi whispered from her position in Mamoru's embrace.

"This isn't it Usa," Rei replied, facing the princess, "I had a lot of time to think last night and I know this isn't your fault. I know it in my head but my heart just can't accept it yet. I want you to know that you're still my princess and my friend."

Hotaru nodded in agreement, "You've done so much good that it's impossible to really hate you. We're still leaving, but we're leaving as friends."

"I'm going to miss you all," Usagi wailed, throwing herself into a group hug with the girls. They returned it, giving her some piece of mind.

"We're ready to leave Setsuna," Hotaru said.

"Before you go, I have something for all of you," Usagi sniffed, reaching into her subspace pocket, "Mamoru and I used our crystals last night to create them." 

She handed each of the senshi who were leaving a velvet box. Inside each box was a silver charm bracelet, with a marble sized crystal globe attached to it. Inside each globe was a different surprise for each senshi. Rei's contained a small flame that burned without dying or heating the globe. Hotaru's appeared to have tiny fireflies darting around inside of it. Ami's had an actual large snowflake floating among some mist. Makoto's had what appeared to be a tiny bolt of lightning that had shaped itself into the form of the atom (AN. Think of her transformation when the lightning surrounds her). Minako's had a golden heart that radiated a soft golden glow as it spun inside the globe.

"They're beautiful Usagi-chan," Minako breathed. Once more, Usagi found herself in a group hug.

Setsuna cleared her throat in an attempt to get everyone's attention. "Actually, I have something for Rei and Hotaru as well. I saved them for you even though I was told to get rid of all the remnants you possessed of your pasts."

Opening her hands, she revealed two golden charms. They were identical dragons, curved so that when connected, they would form a circular medallion (AN-around the size of a toonie, if your not Canadian, it's about an inch in diameter). The only difference between the two dragons was their eyes. One dragon had eyes made out of rubies while the other's eyes were amethysts. Setsuna handed the ruby-eyed one to Rei and the other to Hotaru. "Your family is known as the Dragon Clan," she said in explanation, "As far as I can tell, these were made for you at your births. If you turn them over, they have your names engraved in Mandarin on them. I wasn't able to find out too much about them now. I had to make all my arrangements from the gate so that I would have enough power to send you all today but it shouldn't be too difficult to locate them. Last I was there, when I retrieved you two, they lived in China on Earth. I'll be transporting you to the house you'll be occupying. There's a safe in the basement with all your documents and money. It's voice and fingerprint keyed so you shouldn't have a problem. I've registered you all for the next semester at the Peacecraft Institute on Earth so you should have around a week to search before the term starts. Your uniforms for school will probably arrive within the week. There are three vehicles in the garage for you to use. I've made two sets of papers for Rei and Hotaru, the extra ones are for Houyan and Ziyi if you decide to go by those names."

Setsuna paused for a moment to let the rest of the senshi process the information, then withdrew several small clear balls about the size of marbles. "These are your identification."

Going up to each girl, she place the ball on their wrists where it seemed to melt and form a wristband. "They're made with nanotechnology, this other dimension is leaps and bounds ahead of this one technology wise. These too are voice activated." 

She paused by Ami and said, "Display Identification."

The girls were amazed when a small hologram of Ami popped up with her name and other statistics listed next to it. Walking back towards Rei and Hotaru she said, "Run Program Setsuna One."

Both girls holograms popped with their names listed as Chang Houyan and Ziyi. "End Program Setsuna One." The holograms wavered and the names were replaced with Rei and Hotaru. "These also act as maps, computation devices and contain all your credit information. Once you get to this new dimension, you'll need to use the money in the safe to open up bank accounts. They're a lot more convenient than carrying cash around and safer too. Are you all set to go?"

The girls all nodded and hugged everyone one last time. Setsuna transformed into Pluto and brought out her staff. Waving it in front of her, she created a portal much different from her usual ones. This one appeared to swirl the space in front of her, as if it were escaping a drain. One by one, the girls stepped through, into a new world and a new beginning.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Just kidding, it's not the end of this chapter yet.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They arrived in something of a heap inside a large, well furnished living room. Untangling themselves from each other, they began to realize just where they were. "I don't think we're in Hoboken anymore Toto," Minako murmured. (^_^U- Everyone sweatdrops anime style at Minako's mangled expression).

"Just look at all the stuff in this place," Ami says, her voice bordering on awe at all the gadgets that Setsuna had acquired for them.

Minako, ignoring everything else, flicks on the television. Seeing the looks everyone is giving her she shrugs, "What? I want to learn more about this world. How better to do it than by watching the news?" (This time everyone falls over, sweatdrops hanging over their heads).

Immediately getting down to business Rei turns to Ami and says "Could you use your computer to track down our family? You know everyone's names and Hotaru and I should be able to provide any other information."

Ami nodded and replied, "I'll set my computer to do an autosearch. It'll probably take an hour at least so we should probably take care of all that other stuff like finances while we wait."

Everyone else agreed so Ami set her computer to it's task and they all went about getting settled in.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few hours later…

The girls returned home, exhausted at having finished setting up their bank accounts and testing them out by shopping for furnishings for their own rooms. When they entered the living room, the first thing they noticed was that Ami's computer was beeping from it's place on the coffee table. Dropping their purchases, they crowded around it while Ami read off from the display. "According to this," she stated, "The entire Chang family relocated to Colony L5 shortly after the two of you disappeared."

Scrolling downward, she read silently until she reached some disturbing news. "Oh Kami," she said, drawing in a sharp breath. "What?" Makoto asked, "What is it?"

"Six years ago," she said slowly, "An organization called OZ destroyed everything and everyone on L5."

"No!" Hotaru yelled, "No! We can't have come this far only to have our family taken away again. It isn't fair." 

She started to cry and Rei hugged her, turning to ask Amy, "Were there any survivors?"

Ami continued to scroll downwards and her face lit into a smile at being able to give her friend some good news. "There was one survivor of the massacre of L5…Chang Wufei, your older brother."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wow, I wrote another chapter and it didn't even take me nine months! Reviews help so please review. At least 15 new reviews and you'll get the next chapter? It's basically written out in my head so it shouldn't be too long in coming. This one would've been out sooner but I've been in finals (Yay! No school until September!) plus I got this cold even though the weather is really nice out right now. I'm kind of stalled on Circle of Elements right now. Plus, I love the whole banner blocker thing (just thought I'd let everyone know.)

Aren't the senshi just so understanding in this? I didn't really bash anyone but I am sick of the whole everyone betrays Usagi where the senshi are really b!#chy. Anyways, that's my reasoning behind the story. I got the idea about the wristbands from Priscilla's story without permission so if you're reading this Priscilla, and you want me to change it, it won't be a problem.

In case you're looking for other really good Rei stories go read _Need_ by Priscilla (It's THE best Heero and Rei story ever) and anything by Angel of Mercy. Or just look under my favorite authors in my profile. I read a lot of fanfics so if I don't mention you by name I've most likely read and enjoyed your stories. Once more…REVIEW!

Smile ; )

Ying Fa


	3. Shopping can be dangerous?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything so please don't sue me.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you're the best: REI*HEERO*FAN*FOREVER…your reviews were my favorites. the silent child, Icyfire, yanniko25, Ankle, Marsgoddess, bleh, Kaiya, Ryoga, hiko-chan, nina de majia, rei10588, Kim, Gideon's Dreamer, The Goth Witch, Princess, Dark Smile, Black Aura Sama, VioletEyes, Miz, Ash, hel, RubyRedDragon05, Angel of Mercy (Yay, she reviewed me!), Jade Hunter, Celtic Storms, Kaiya and jaCHAN.

Here's the poll to date: 

Minako/Wufei- 3

Minako/Duo- 1

Minako/Quatre-4

Ami/Wufei- 6

Ami/Duo- 1

Ami/Quatre- 1

Hotaru/Duo- 3

Hotaru/Trowa- 5

Makoto/Wufei- 1

Makoto/Duo- 1

Makoto/Trowa- 2

Makoto/Quatre- 1

Remember to cast your votes in the form of reviews. 

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter 2

Shopping can be dangerous?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As the day upon which the girls were to start attending classes at the Peacecraft Institute approached;they were still unable to find any clue as to the current whereabouts of Wufei Chang (AN. He's a Gundam Pilot and a Preventer, I'm assuming that his personal files and whatnot have been highly protected to the point that even Ami would have problems finding them). There was no death certificate registered in his name though so Rei and Hotaru kept their hopes up. Currently, Rei sat staring at her laptop, watching as it sifted through tons of data in search of Wufei. Ami was doing a similar search on her much more efficient Mercury palmtop. Hotaru and Makoto were in the kitchen where Mako was teaching Hotaru how to bake chocolate chip cookies. They were all startled out of their tasks as Minako came sailing in from the hallway. "We've got mail!" she exclaimed, waving a small stack of envelopes above her head.

"What is it, more school forms?" Ami asked, her attention never leaving the readout in front of her.

"No," Minako said brightly, "They're invitations to a party!"

"A party?" Hotaru asked skeptically, "We don't know anyone in this dimension, who would invite us to a party?"

Minako grinned, seeing that she held her friends' attention, "Listen to this: To your name here, as you may know as students of the Peacecraft Institute, the 18th birthday of our founder, Miss Relena Peacecraft is approaching. We the staff of the Peacecraft Institute, along with the organization known as the Preventers are holding a semi-formal dinner and dance in honour of this auspicious occasion. The rest just gives all the info, I'm sure that's what they all say. So can we go?"

Rei took in her friend's excited faces. A party would lift everyone's spirits after this long and disappointing search. But, what if while they were out partying, a clue to her brother would pop up only for a short time? Hotaru's face reflected the same doubts as her older sister. Would they be dishonoring their family by going out when they should be searching?

Ami however, anticipated this type of reaction from the sisters for when it was time for them to attend school and had prepared something ahead of time. "I've already taken care of the computer searches," she said, breaking the somewhat awkward silence that had fallen over the group, "I've linked our computers to our wristbands. While we are away from them, they'll continue with their independent searches and if anything is found, it will alert our wristbands and upload the information to the holoscreens so that we can access them wherever we are."

The girls buried Ami under a huge group hug. "Ami," Hotaru said, "You are the best. I love you and your super-brain."

"So it's settled then? We're going?" Makoto asked, smiling. She received unanimous nods in return. "Good, cause if you haven't noticed, the party's in two days and we've got near unlimited funds courtesy of Setsuna. I say makeovers are in order."

Minako smiled her best evil smile, "Ladies, let's go on a little shopping spree!"

The girls all jumped up (even Ami) eager for this distraction and headed out the door, after making sure to set their computers of course.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Mall, Later on in the day…

The girls had split up after arriving at the mall and finding it to be huge. Hotaru and Rei decided to do a little sisterly bonding and go together while the rest of the girls went another direction. The first place the sisters visited was a hair salon where Rei went to cut some of her hair off. Currently, it reached past her knees and she was finding that it got in the way about and decided that now was as good a time as any to change her look.

Hotaru settled herself in the waiting room of the salon, anticipating a fairly long wait. Picking up a magazine, she rifled through it to pass the time. Some time had passed and she started to get bored when a voice beside her asked, "Excuse me miss, Is this seat taken?"

Hotaru looked up into a pair of violet eyes several shades lighter than her own. "No its not taken," she replied. "Thanks," the owner of the eyes, a young man a few years older than herself said, "I came here with a friend and for some reason he always takes forever. I think it's because he wants to make sure that his gravity-defying bang stays that way. Are you here to get your hair cut or are you waiting for someone?"

Hotaru smiled at the friendly boy. "I'm here with my sister. She's getting her hair cut. It's a little longer than yours. Doesn't that braid get annoying?"

"No way," he replied, "My braid is sacred. This thing is never getting cut. Is your sister as cute as you?"

Hotaru blushed, and searched for some way to answer the boy when another voice cut in and said, "Is this baka bothering you miss?"

Looking up, Hotaru locked eyes with another young man. His eyes were a deep emerald green, similar to Makoto's, one covered by what she could only see as the "gravity-defying bang" that the first young man had told her about.

"Trowa, my man," the first guy said, "That was faster than expected. What happened? Did they discover some new sort of super-gel? This is my new friend…um…what was your name again?"

Hotaru laughed at the braided one's antics when Rei emerged from the salon, her hair now reaching just past her bottom and more layered than it had previously been. "I'm Hotaru and this is my sister Rei," she replied, "And you are?"

"Duo Maxwell, at your service," he replied, "I may run, I may hide, but I'll never tell a lie." His friend rolled his eyes at this last little bit. Catching this action, Duo added, "And this is Trowa Barton. He doesn't lie for the most part because he doesn't talk a lot in general." 

This received a glare from Trowa and laughter from both Rei and Hotaru. "So what are you ladies up to today?" Duo asked, flashing them his most charming smile. "Just shopping," Hotaru replied, "We just moved here so we need to get some stuff."

"Really?" Duo said, "Do you want a quickie tour around the mall? I know this place like the back of my hand." 

Seeing that Rei was about to turn him down, Hotaru quickly accepted, eager to make new friends in this new dimension. Here, no one knew who she was and what powers she possessed and she wanted it to be a true fresh start. Rei shrugged, following along with the plan with some resignation. To Duo's surprise, Trowa didn't object to this little detour and offered Hotaru his arm like a gentleman. Blushing slightly, she took it and allowed him to lead her. Duo, not enjoying how his little tour had been co-opted by his friend, hurried to catch up, dragging a slightly annoyed Rei along beside him.

"Hota-chan," Rei called to her sister, "What about the others, we do have to meet them in a little over an hour for lunch."

"You're both welcome to join us, Barton-san, Maxwell-san," Hotaru said in response to her sister's query.

"Sure," Duo replied, "Are you're friends as hot as you and your sister?"

"Maxwell!"

Both Duo and Trowa turned to the voice they knew well. "Hey Heero," Duo said weakly, "What's up?"

Rei and Hotaru both turned to see a young man with messy brown hair and Prussian blue eyes striding purposefully towards them. "What are you doing, you were to meet with Quatre and myself five minutes ago," Heero stated in his usual monotone, his eyes flickering over Rei and Hotaru in a dismissive glance. "I understand that you are easily sidetracked by some skirt but I had hoped Trowa's presence would have dissuaded that impulse." Now Heero wouldn't have said something like this normally but he had just barely managed to escape the clutched of his stalker, Relena. Rei however, did not have this little background information and her nerves were already tightly strung from the events of the past few days. Well 2+2=1 and this combination of events led to what the girls affectionately called a "Rei Bomb."

Marching straight up into Heero's face, she let loose one of her infamous tirades, "NOW SEE HERE YOU ARROGANT JERK. NEITHER I NOR MY SISTER ARE WHAT YOU SO DELICATELY CALLED "SOME SKIRT". IF YOU HAD ANY SEMBLANCE OF INTEGRITY OR EVEN COMMON SENSE YOU _WILL _APOLOGIZE TO ME, MY SISTER, AND THESE TWO BOYS WHO ARE APPARENTLY SUPPOSED TO BE WHAT PASSES AS FRIENDS TO YOU. WE'RE NEW HERE AND THEY SO KINDLY OFFERED TO SHOW US AROUND. IF THEY TRIED ANYTHING OR WERE EVEN THINKING OF TRYING ANYTHING, I WOULD HAND THEM THEIR ASSES ON A PLATTER, SOMETHING WHICH I AM CONSIDERING DOING TO YOU RIGHT NOW. IF YOU SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO EITHER ME OR MY SISTER EVER AGAIN, OMAE WA KORUSO!

With that, Rei grabbed Hotaru's hand, and, forgetting the apologies that she had demanded, stormed off.

Heero stood there, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Duo's jaw had dropped and Trowa's eyebrow had practically jumped into his hairline. What just happened? Heero thought to himself, That, that girl just yelled at me for no real reason and somehow, I …I feel guilty.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Okay, so that was a fun chapter. I tried to get it out as soon as possible but I've been alternately lazy and busy. I've become obsessed with the newest Canadian Popstars, "Velvet Empire". I really love their CD, it's sooo much better than "Sugar Jones", the first Canadian Popstars. Anyways, I want to get on with the romantic aspects of the story so the poll will close at midnight next Wednesday so be sure to vote before then. As always, at least 15 reviews please? They keep me writing when I get frustrated with the story.

Ja

Ying Fa


	4. Liars?!?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did, I'd be rolling in my money right now, not writing fanfics while working two jobs.

Author's Note: I'm back!!! After a few panic stricken days (One of my professors did not get the exam I e-mailed her thereby FAILING me from her course and effectively keeping me from graduating or going on to the next year) but I managed to finally straighten things out (I re-sent and she gave me a 53, how fair is that! I'm so happy I passed! I just found out today so I decided that I should write). Plus, I'm so excited about all the reviews I've gotten. I lost my little piece of paper with everyone who reviewed on it but know that I read them all and thank you so much. They really do help me to write faster and they calmed me during some of my…um…weird moments during my numerous panic attacks. This chapter is for Rebecca, who made me her Beta! I'm so excited, I've never been anyone's beta before. I hope I do a good job and I hope you read this Rebecca! I really do enjoy your story "It's Gonna Be Me". Anyways, the polls are closing midnight on Wednesday, May 8th so get your reviews with couple votings in before then. So far, these are the standings:

Minako/Wufei:5

Minako/Duo: 1

Minako/Quatre:6

Ami/Wufei:9

Ami/Duo:2

Ami/Quatre:2

Hotaru/Duo:5

Hotaru/Trowa:7

Makoto/Wufei:1

Makoto/Duo:2

Makoto/Trowa:4

Makoto/Quatre:1

Hmm…poor Mako, no one feels really strongly about who she should be with like with the others. Oh well, keep voting.

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter 3:

Liars!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Rei-chan," Hotaru inquired gently as she was dragged alongside her fuming sister, "Did you really mean that? You kind of went off on that guy. He wasn't that bad, I mean, if he's friends with Duo and Trowa, he must have some sort of redeeming qualities?"

Rei came to an abrupt stop at a fairly secluded bench and slumped down into it, winding down from her previous outburst. "I know I went off Hota-chan," she replied wearily, "I honestly didn't mean to explode like that but that guy just pushed all the wrong buttons at the worst possible time. This whole thing with finding out the truth has just gotten me so…so…I don't know, tightly wound. It actually felt pretty good being able to let loose like that but I should probably keep a tighter rein on my temper. This isn't exactly the time or the place to fly off the handle."

Hotaru smiled and thought of something, "Soo, maybe we can go find the guys again and apologize?"

Rei looked at her younger sister with a knowing glance, "Riight," she said dryly, "You want me to go apologize so that you can go hang out with Duo and Trowa. Well, it's not going to happen until that jerk apologizes to us first. I regret losing my temper but that guy was completely out of line with those comments."

Hotaru threw her best pout at her older sister. Rei just laughed, "Come on, we still have to find dresses for that damn party and meet the girls to eat. Besides, I have a feeling we'll run into those guys again."

"How do you know?"

"I'm older than you. Plus, I'm psychic, remember," Rei retorted, flashing her best V for Victory imitation of Minako. Hotaru laughed and pulled Rei up from the bench, pulling her towards the nearest clothing store. 

"Bye the way," she added, "I like your hair. It looks good."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The three guys just stood there in the wake of Rei's departure for what seemed like forever until Duo finally broke the awkward silence that had fallen over them with a choking noise. Trowa and Heero both looked at him only to find him turning purple from attempting to hold in his laughter. The edges of Trowa's mouth quirked upwards into a smirk at this sight, causing Duo to lose control completely and start laughing like a hyena. Heero simply glared at the braided boy, which appeared to only set him off more. He was seriously considering pulling out his gun and shooting the baka when Quatre and Wufei arrived on the scene, the former looking worried while the latter looked really annoyed. "What is going on here, "Wufei demanded, adding his own fierce glare to Heero's, "Why is Maxwell acting like an idiot? We have work to do." 

Heero simply walked away from the group, heading back to his car, intending to leave immediately before he lost control and did shoot Duo. Why is this bothering me so much? He thought to himself,I've never been this annoyed with Duo before, and he takes perverse pleasure in annoying me. 

Meanwhile, Duo had finally managed to regain control of himself. "Seeing how Trowa isn't gonna tell you guys anything, I will," Duo said, a silly grin still plastered on his face, "See, I was waiting for Trowa in the salon when I met this really cute girl who was here with her equally cute older sister."

"Figures some onnas would be involved in the whole fiasco," Wufei grumbled to himself.

"ANYWAYS," Duo continued, "As I was saying, I met these two cuties who I find out are new in town. So being the gentleman that I am (*Wufei snorts*) I offered to show them around the mall. That was when we ran into Heero, who basically insulted them right to their faces. BUT, the best part was when Rei, she's the older sister, gets all up in Heero's face and lays down the law. You should have seen Heero's expression, he looked so…y'know…non-Heero-ish. It was priceless."

The other pilots simply shook their heads at Duo's glee. "Maybe we should find these girls and apologize to them for Heero. It seems sort of odd behaviour for him to flat out insult someone like that."

Trowa once more shook his head, "Hotaru might accept the apology from us but I bet it'd be a cold day in Hell before her sister took an apology from anyone other than Heero."

"Onnas," Wufei grumbled once more, "Nothing but trouble, especially that peace-loving psycho."

With that, the remaining pilots left the mall, joining Heero who was waiting by the car to return to their dorms at the Peacecraft Institute.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Two days later, an hour before the party…

"Anything yet Ami?" Rei asked, entering the living room while attempting to fasten on a pair of earrings.

Ami shook her head, sending the curls that had been set into it bouncing. The girls had indeed went all out for the evening, taking full advantage of the large amount of money that Setsuna had arranged for them. Ami was wearing a pale blue dress in shimmering satin. It was a slip dress that grazed her shoes with a sheer overlay covered in tiny silver snowflakes. Her hair had been curled and held in place with a silver snowflake. Rei was completely opposite in a crimson dress made from a material that swished when she moved (AN. I don't know what it's called). It had short sleeves that barely covered her shoulders and were split so that they were more like ruffles. The hem of her dress was angled so that the front ended just below her knees while the back reached her ankles. Her hair had also been loosely curled and was pinned up with stray curls framing her face. The only jewelry she wore were her dragon necklace and her wristband. Minako's dress was a clingy, cream crotcheted number, also slip dress styled, with a layer of golden silk underneath the crotchet to keep it decent. She had decided to forgo her ribbon for the night and her hair fell in golden waves down her back. Makoto's dress was made of a dark green velvet. It was strapless and hugged her curves completely, ending just below her knees. Swirling in a diagonal pattern up her body was a pattern of bronze embroidery in the form of tiny maple leafs. Her hair had been let down for the night and had been completely straightened from her usual waves, giving her a sophisticated look. Hotaru looked the most different from how she usually looked. Her dress was a pale lavender, with one strap coming down across her shoulder and going down her back, which was completely bare. When the strap reached her back, it actually became a chain with tiny purple crystals that hooked to the other side of her dress. Like Rei, her hem was cut at an angle, except it ended at just below her knees on her left side, then lengthened to her ankle on her right side. She too wore her dragon necklace and her wristband. Around her left ankle was a small chain matching the one on the back of her dress. Minako had swept her hair up into a funky sort of twist, fastening it with a pair of violet chopsticks. When she finally emerged from her room, she was met with applause from the other girls. "You're gonna knock'em dead Hota-chan," Makoto said, after giving her a teasing wolf whistle.

Blushing, Hotaru tried to divert the girls' attention, "Minna, it's getting kind of late, shouldn't we get going?"

That certainly did the trick and the girls piled into their rented limo for the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"This is so boring," Makoto complained, "Everyone here is so stuffy. Do we really have to go to this school? Can't we enroll in some public school?"

"You think this is bad?" Rei replied, "Try going to an all-girl Catholic school run by nuns." (AN. I _can _say that because that's exactly where I spent all of high school).

"Hey! Isn't that Duo?" Hotaru suddenly said, spotting a familiar face in the crowd. "I'll be right back, I want to say hi and thank him and Trowa for the other day."

With that she darted into the milling crowd and disappeared. "I for one want to see these 'hot guys' we've heard about," Minako said, following quickly on Hotaru's tail, Makoto followed suit, Ami moved to follow, if only to keep the others from embarrassing themselves. 

Rei shrugged to herself, Let those guys flirt a little, they need it, she fingered her wristband, I have a mission.

She suddenly felt a presence behind her but before she could turn around, a soft voice spoke into her ear, "I'm sorry."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"DUO! TROWA!"

Both guys turned to see Hotaru dodging through the crowd towards them. Reaching them, she smiled brightly, not even slightly fazed by the confusion she had caused on the dancefloor. "Hey Hotaru," Duo said, "You look hot tonight. I didn't know you went here." 

"We start next week," she replied, noticing the two other guys with Trowa and Duo. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Sure," he replied, turning to face Trowa and the others, "You already know Trowa but this is…"

He was interrupted when Wufei lunged at the shocked Hotaru, grabbing at something around her neck, dragging her closer to him.

"Where the hell did you get this Thief?" he demanded, his voice intense as he glared at her.

Hotaru's mind reeled, who was this man who had attacked her and why did he do it? Suddenly, he was ripped away from her, pulling her necklace off with him, leaving an angry red welt on the back of her neck.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Okay, I know I'm evil. But what a good place to end the chapter. I'm not too sure why I ended it here but it seemed like a good place to stop. I wonder who pulled Wufei off of Hotaru when big sis was occupied with the not-so-mystery man (come on, like you don't know who it is). Remember, the polls for couples close Wednesday so don't forget to review. I wanted to write a little more Hotaru in this chapter for a certain reviewer who requested it (you know who you are) and I tried to make her not favour either Trowa or Duo (since they are pretty close in the pairings poll). Anyways, I need sleep (or a Tim Horton's Ice Cap) so Ja for now.

Ying Fa


	5. The Dragon Clan

Disclaimer: I don't own either Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing, * sigh *, oh well, moving on.

OMG! Priscilla, who writes my favorite fanfic in the world, _Need_, reviewed me! So this chapter is for her (also 'cause she told me I was holding up her writing the next chapter of Need). Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I think this is my shortest interval between chapters yet (3 days!). I impress myself sometimes (no, not really ^_^;;). You are: Tahjako Hino (formerly REI*HEERO*FAN*FOREVER- who btw is really sweet), the silent child (aka. Rebby-chan), Icyfire, Yanniko25 (now known as Lady Pyro), Ankle, Marsgoddess, bleh, Kaiya, Ryoga, hiko-chan, nina de majia, rei10588, kim, Gideon's Dreamer, The Goth Witch, Princess, Dark Smile, Black Aura Sama, VioletEyes, Miz, Ash, hel, RubyRedDragon05 (love your stories too), Angel of Mercy (need more of _Souls at War _please), Jade Hunter, CelticStorms, jaCHAN, Sakura Yuy, The Kuro no Tenshi, Mars Fire Goddess (Yours is one of the best Rei/Wufei stories around), EmeraldRose, Tira Wolf, Princess Ren, SakuraMona, AW4E, skyprincess, and American Supporter.

So the polls are now closed. The results, along with explanations about the story will be posted at the end of this chapter.

On with the story…

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter 4

The Dragon Clan

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I'm sorry."

Rei shivered slightly from the sensation of having someone so close to her. She turned to find a pair of Prussian blue eyes regarding her intently. Taking a moment to regain her composure, she smiled faintly at him, sensing the sincerity behind his apology and somehow knowing that it was not something that he took lightly. "I'm sorry as well," she said, "My sister and friends told me that I behaved horribly, and even though you did as well, it was no excuse for me to do the same."

The ends of Heero's lips quirked, coming as close to a smile as was possible for the perfect soldier. This girl had him unbalanced; one moment she was in his face, now she's apologizing for it. He was about to reply when a familiar voice cut across the noise of the ballroom.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Wufei was snapped out of his rage when he was ripped away from Hotaru. The person who had grabbed him dragged him away by his collar and had slammed him up against the wall, pressing a forearm against his windpipe, cutting off his hair. Looking up from the charm he had clutched in his hand, he locked gazes with the coldest pair of blue eyes he had ever seen. His eyes widened, and he spoke without thinking. "You're an Onna!" he choked out, trying to gasp in precious air.

"Well no shit sherlock," came a voice to the Onna's right.

Wufei looked to see the tall brunette who had yelled at him earlier helping Hotaru up from the ground. He then turned his attention back to his captor who gave him a cold smirk. "Did you know that if I continue with this particular level of pressure on your windpipe it will take exactly three minutes for you to lose consciousness? Another two minutes after that would see you brain dead. Do you feel like behaving or do we see if my calculations are correct?"

Wufei glared at his blue-haired onna (AN. Bet you didn't see that one coming) before nodding his head. She released the pressure on his throat and allowed him to stand on his own power. By now, the crowd had formed a circle around the group, staring on in avid curiosity. It was now that Rei finally arrived, having to push her way through the throngs, Heero only a step behind her. "What is going on?" she demanded.

"Oh good," Hotaru said darkly, "You're just in time to see me beat the crap out of this jerk. He's sooo lucky I don't have my glaive right now."

Rei raised an eyebrow at her sister's unusual attitude. Then she noticed how Hotaru had been rubbing at the back of her neck. "Where's your necklace?"

"The bakayaro over there ripped it off of her," Makoto provided helpfully, cracking her knuckles menacingly at the Chinese pilot.

Rei's eyes slitted and the same anger that was radiating off of Hotaru could be felt around her. Unfortunately, this was exactly the moment when Wufei noticed the other half of the dragons around her neck. Completely forgetting his earlier, um, encounter with Ami's anger, he made a lunge at Rei. "You're both thieves, those don't belong to you."

He smacked into something before he even reached Rei however, something very solid, and landed on his ass on the floor. "Yuy," he said angrily, "Get out of my way. These onnas are criminals."

Duo and Trowa each grabbed one of Wufei's arms, restraining him so that he couldn't do any more damage. "Perhaps we ought to settle this somewhere that isn't so public," Minako suggested, jerking her head towards the watching crowd.

"Heeeeeeeerrrrrrooooooo!" came a wailing voice from somewhere within the crowd, "Are you all right?"

Heero's eyes widened fractionally, "Our dorms…NOW!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Give me one good reason why I can't kick his ass," Hotaru complained to Duo, walking with him while Wufei was now being dragged along by Heero and Trowa.

"'Cause he unfortunately is useful for some things," Duo replied, grinning comically at her, "Not a lot of things, but we can't get rid of him. I believe this belongs to you." He unfurled the necklace that he had lifted off Wufei and handed it back to her.

"Oh no, the chain's broken," she said sadly, running her fingers over the small charm.

"Here," Duo said, taking it back, "Lift up your hair."

When she complied, he placed the necklace around her neck once more and tied the two ends of the chain together, "This oughta hold 'till we get everything sorted out. I think I've got a spare chain somewhere in my room that you can have. Do you feel alright? That's a pretty nasty looking welt you've got on your neck now."

Hotaru blushed at the sensation that he created when running his hands over the welt. "I'll be fine."

"Here we are."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Quatre closed the door to the suite that the pilots shared and immediately the yelling started again.

"What did you think you were doing?"

"THIEVES!"

"BASTARD!"

"ENOUGH!" Quatre finally yelled, startling everyone into silence. "Thank you," he continued, "Now Wufei, could you please explain to us why you attacked these girls?"

Before Wufei could answer, Rei interrupted, "You're name is Wufei?"

"Yes ONNA," he replied scathingly, "but you may not address me in so familiar a manner. You will refer to me as sir or Chang-san."

"You've got to be joking," Rei said, turning her eyes towards the heavens.

Hotaru shook her head disbelievingly, "You're Wufei Chang? Did I really do something that bad in my previous lives to deserve this?"

"What ARE you onnas babbling about?" Wufei demanded.

The girls exchanged looks. "Well you see," Rei said, "My name isn't really Rei Hino, just like Hotaru over there isn't Hotaru Tomoe. We ARE sisters though, and these necklaces DO belong to us, they have been ours since the day we were born."

Wufei's eyes got wider and wider as he began to make the connections in his mind. The senshi exchanged worried glances while the pilots were simply confused.

"It's impossible," Wufei said, "It's been almost a decade. We searched, we mourned…"

"It is us," Rei said, "You must feel it. Look at us, you know us. Try to remember."

Wufei finally _really_ looked at the two girls. It was clear they were sisters, the resembled each other a great deal. Then he looked into their eyes, matching sets of violet orbs that were so familiar to him. "You have mother's eyes," he stated quietly.

Rei and Hotaru looked overjoyed. "We're back big bro," Hotaru said, smiling cautiously at him, unsure of his reaction.

"YOU'RE RELATED TO WU-MAN!?!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Okay, before everyone starts yelling "What do you mean it was Ami?" It was Ami for a couple of reasons. First, remember the kind of childhood she had (see the first chapter if you don't). Second, it is of my opinion that the senshi retain some of their enhanced strength and speed even when out of senshi form. Third, Ami is very smart, this does not make her weaker than the others, if it makes you feel better, lets say she used physics to judge just how much leverage she would need to pull Wufei off of Hotaru and pin him. I have lots more reasons so if anyone complains, I will post a chapter consisting only of them. As for Hotaru's OOC anger, she IS a Chang after all. I think it's in their genes. Anywas, this chapter ended here because I wanted to get one out as soon as possible and …um…yeah. The couples for this story are officially:

Minako/Quatre, with 6 votes.

Ami/Wufei, with 9 votes.

Hotaru/Duo, with 7 votes (Actually there was a tie between Hotaru and Trowa but all of Mako's votes were for her to be with Trowa. Plus, Duo dating Wufei's baby sister? Come on.)

Makoto/Trowa, with 5 votes.

Remember to keep reviewing, as I have demonstrated, it helps me write faster. I think the next chapter might be a little more Rei-centric (for some reason I've been writing more Hotaru. Someone requested it, I can't remember who, but I fret a lot that I'm not giving all of the senshi a share of the action.) This is turning out to be a lot longer than expected but I want their relationships to develop. I'm considering not having the pilots have a whole past life thing, but that would mean that I'd have to get around the whole senshi being immortal thing. Suggestions anyone? Anyways, I'm done babbling and if you don't see me for a bit, Happy Mother's Day? 

Smiles,

Ying Fa


	6. Playing the Blame Game

Disclaimer: You know, I'm getting tired of typing this. Anyways, I don't own any of these characters, so don't sue.

Author's Notes: Hey look, I'm back already. Mostly because I've been pretty bored (there's nothing good on TV tonight). Thanks to everyone who's reviewed me. Tahjako Hino-Sorry I made you fall out of your chair. It's happened to me many, many a time (* sigh *^_^;;), Priscilla, I patiently await the next chapter of _Need_ (will more bribery work?), lady pyro (thanks for the e-mail), SakuraMona, Princess Ren, Black Aura-Sama, Rings of the Cosmos, Fyre Eye, and DarkSmile. I know I've gotten a lot of reviews, but these are the people who reviewed my most recent chapter. If you want to see a more complete list, look at my last chapter. Look for more notes at the end of this chapter.

Ying Fa

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter Five

Playing the Blame Game

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Everyone sat anxiously, awaiting some sort of reaction from one of the Chang siblings following Duo's rather ill-timed outburst. The three seemed to frozen into some sort of odd tableau, staring at eachother intently. Finally, Wufei broke it. Standing, he looked at his two sisters, his face a mask of anger and pain. "It's your fault," he growled, "If you hadn't disappeared, we would never have left earth, gone to L5."

Rei and Hotaru both looked as if he had slapped them in the faces. This was NOT the type of greeting they had expected getting from their long-lost brother. Not losing any steam from seeing their stricken looks, Wufei kept going, "Mother was hysterical when we left. She was so worried that you would get away from whoever had taken you and make your way back to the house only to find out that we were gone. And Father, Father wasn't any better, he couldn't go into any of the rooms without breaking down. If you had just stayed where you were supposed to, they'd all be alive, Mother, Father, Meiran, all of them."

He was openly crying now, something that he had never done in front of anyone ever since the destruction of the L5 colony. "It is NOT our fault," Rei shot back, also in tears, "Do you think we had a choice? Did you think we wanted to leave? We had a family who loved us. Do you even know what we've gone through over the years? You know nothing about us so do not presume to judge us guilty."

"Yeah," Hotaru added, tears streaming silently down her cheeks, "If we're so guilty, what about you? How come you were the only one to survive the destruction of entire colony? Where were you? Did you stay where you were supposed to?"

"I was helping to keep the colonies safe!" Wufei yelled, "I was trying to protect them and the rest of the world. Where were you?"

"We were protected the whole fucking galaxy so don't preach to us about duty," Rei shouted back, landing a wild punch on Wufei, then collapsing into his arms crying. "Duty, always duty."

They sank to the floor, crying for the injustices that the universe had bestowed onto them, Hotaru joined them, wrapping her arms around her older siblings.

"I think maybe we should give them some time to sort this out before any explanations can be made," Quatre suggested, his empathy reeling from the emotions rioting in the room.

Slowly, the remaining pilots and senshi crept from the room, allowing the Changs a chance to share their grief as a family.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was some time before the three had separated, the only evidence of their prior breakdowns the tear streaks trailing down their faces. "I want a DNA test done," Wufei stated.

"I thought you believed us?" Hotaru asked.

"I want to believe you," he replied, his voice carrying a bitter edge to it, "But I have far too many enemies to be able to trust so easily. For all I know, one of them hired you to impersonate my sisters in order to get close enough to kill me."

Rei and Hotaru looked at each other worriedly. They knew that the DNA test would prove that they were related to Wufei, but it would also show a few other things that they weren't quite ready so share with the world yet. When the need for testing had arisen before, Ami had always managed to adjust any results accordingly, masking the quirks in their DNA that marked them as senshi, giving them their special skills. It's the only way for him to believe us, Rei thought to herself. "Alright," she replied, "But you are the only one aside from the doctor allowed to see the results. We have to be allowed to pick them, and they must be sworn to absolute secrecy, to the point of death."

Wufei raised an eyebrow, "What do you have to hide that's worth someone's life?"

"You'll see."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You guys can stop trying to listen in at the door," Hotaru said, poking her head out and surveying the crowd that attempted to look like they hadn't been doing just that, "We've calmed down and are ready to explain some things."

"Finally!" Duo said, "I really want to know how YOU can be related to HIM."

Hotaru blushed again. I think my face is going to be permanently red from being around Duo.

Wufei noticed this and sent a warning glare at Duo, who just ignored it. "Thanks for being so patient with us guys, "Rei began, "I know we owe you an explanation so I'll let Wufei start with the part most of us already know. He already told us you guys can be trusted."

"When my family still lived on earth," he said, looking around at his audience, "We lived in China, in our family's ancestral home. I was raised to be heir, something which I always detested. When I was two, my mom gave birth to my first sister, named Houyan. A year later, I had another sister, Ziyi. I loved them, they used to follow me around everywhere and we'd always get into a lot of trouble. When I was seven, we had gone on a picnic in the woods. It was my job to keep an eye on my younger sisters while we were playing, but I got distracted. One of the children from another clan who was friends with my own, Meiran, had challenged me to a fight after I ripped the head off her favorite doll. I completely forgot about my sisters, who had been watching the fight. When it was over, I turned to look at where they had been sitting and they were gone. We never found them. It was my fault."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Okay, this is a pretty short chapter and kind of depressing but NECESSARY for plot and character development. Plus, I've been in sort of a depressed mood lately and I saw the saddest episode of "Touched by an Angel" on Saturday (I wasn't working for once and it was the only thing on TV). I didn't want them to seem like all they did was fight all the time, they needed depth so that's why I made this chapter. Plus, I felt the need to write something, and this idea had been floating around ever since I posted the last chapter. There should be a little more comedy and romance in the next chapter now that most of the heavier stuff has been dealt with. Anyways, that's all for now kids, see ya soon.

Ying Fa

(Remember to read and review or I'll hold the next chapter hostage (*laughs evilly, waving pages over her head while Rei and Heero give her matching death glares*)…um…or not. Please review)


	7. Understandings

Disclaimer: no own, not even it wildest dreams.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I couldn't hold this chapter hostage (*glares at Heero who has a gun to her head while Rei smirks evilly*). It has what everyone's been waiting for, a little Rei/Heero mushiness! This is for Priscilla, who introduced me to Rei/Heero couplings, and to Tahjako Hino and lady pyro (who have been huge support in writing this story, I love their reviews, Priscilla's too). Everyone else helped hugely, and I can't seem to leave this story alone with so many reviews. I'm almost at the 100 mark! Thanks to: SakuraMona, DarkSmile (Good job, black eyes fade, but an ass-whupping lasts forever-it's a Hallmark moment), Miz, Kaiya, Black Aura-Sama, marzy001, Princess Ren, The Kuro no Tenshi, skyprincess, Fyre Eye, Rings of the Cosmos, Icyfire, sole, AmericanSupporter, Sakura Yuy, Fate's Child, Aphrodite, Marsgoddess, Lina Hino (I love "Fallen, especially the latest chapter), AW4E (what does that stand for anyways?), Emerald Rose, RubyRedDragon05, Tira Wolf, jaCHAN, Jade Hunter, CelticStorms, ash, hel, Angel of Mercy, the silent child***rebby-chan, Ankle, bleh, Ryoga, hiko-chan, nina de majia, rei10588, Kim, Gideon's Dreamer, The Goth Witch, and Princess.

This chapter came out so fast because I'm celebrating! I'm graduating, my new grade is a pass! You're looking at a graduate!!! I now hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Theatre (and I'm writing Sailormoon fanfic, * sigh *)

Moving on,

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter Six

Understandings

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rei leaned against the railing on the balcony of the boy's suite, her arms wrapped around her to stave off the chill from her bare arms. She could faintly hear Hotaru and the other girls explaining a little of what had happened to them after Setsuna had taken them. She had had to get out of there after Wufei's unexpected admission, needing time to think. She had been out there quite some time when she sensed another presence out on the balcony with her. "There's no need to sneak about Heero," she said without turning to look at him, "If you have something you want to know, go ahead and ask."

Heero's eyes widened, How did she know I was here? Nobody else has ever caught me sneaking up on them before. Shaking his head to regain his impassive mask, he looked at her once more, "What makes you think I'm not out here to enjoy the night air?"

"Because it's freezing out here," she replied.

To her complete surprise, no sooner were the words out of her mouth when something warm settled about her shoulders. She turned to face him, noting that he was now only wearing a thin, white dress shirt. "Aren't you going to be cold?" she asked.

He shrugged in response, "Cold doesn't bother me too much."

Rei simply raised an eyebrow, and turned back to the railing, pulling the jacket warmly about her. "So what part has Hota-chan gotten to so far?"

"The part about your new parents and what your father did to you," Heero replied, his voice slightly warmer than his usual monotone, "I've heard it from her, why don't' you tell me about what happened."

"Not a lot to tell really," she replied, her voice hard, "The usual, girl gets kidnapped, stuck in a crappy home where dad hits mom, mom dies, dad hits girl. I was eight by the time my grandfather was able to win custody of me. Follow those years up with a boyfriend who dates you then dumps you to further his political career. I never should have trusted Kaidou, after all, he was my father's assistant. Then another who dumps you for your best friend because "It was destiny", then another one who followed me around, singing his awful songs and proclaiming his endless love for me then leaving me for some girl his family had arranged for him to marry. It was around there that I tried to kill myself. Can you believe it? I'm a trained soldier, been through countless battles, and I can't even manage that. Look!"

Rei shoved her wrists towards him, pushing the sleeves back so he could make out the very faint scars on each of her wrists. "None of the others know, it was a while ago, before I met Hotaru," she said quietly, staring at the ground, "I didn't deserve to live. I allowed Beryl to kill her. I didn't fulfill my oath."

She was startled when he wrapped his hands around her wrists, fingertips tracing the thin white lines of the scars. She looked into his eyes to find something that she had never seen before…understanding.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Heero was amazed at the girl who stood before him. Here was someone who understood the things he had gone through, because she had gone through almost the very same. He felt a pull towards her, something he couldn't deny, didn't want to. Her wrists were so warm in his hands, and he felt like he was drowning in her dark violet eyes. "You did nothing of the sort," he said, his voice close to a whisper, "I've seen the way you are. You give everything to all that you do, whether it be defending your family, or apologizing for what you've done. It takes a strong person to do these. I admire you for that. It's something I can't be. I tried to kill myself once as well. I had failed my mission. Trowa found me and helped me to live. You have to let your sister, your friends and us help you to live again."

Rei's eyes darkened and took on a dreamy cast as Heero unconsciously drew her closer. "And you Heero Yuy?" she asked, her voice husky, "Will you help me live again?"

"Mission accepted."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Now if one of the others were to look out onto the balcony at the moment, they would see one dark shape, rather than two. If they took a closer look, they would find the icy soldier and fiery senshi kissing under the light of the crescent moon, hanging on to each other as though the world would end if they were parted.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hmmm…maybe now Heero and Rei will leave me alone for a little bit (*looks off to the side where they are shaking their heads*). I know, Heero's a little OOC but it's my story dammit! Okay, I need to cut back on the caffeine. I know its another short chapter, but I wanted to get this one out. I was sitting at my desk at work when it came to me so I had to write it. Next chapter will be longer, but it will take a little longer to get out. It's the price you gotta pay if you want longer chapters. Too mushy? Not mushy enough? Let me know. Plus, I'm working on a plot line now that everyone knows who they're related to. Next chapter will have the DNA tests plus the starting of school (I hope, it may change). Anyways, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!! Remember, the other girls won't fall in love so instantly (but I just HAD to have Rei and Heero get together, I don't know if I'll let the other senshi and pilots know yet }: )). Oh yeah, maybe the next chapter will have what's gone on while Rei and Heero were making with the smoochies. Just a note, I don't write lemons, but their relationships will be fairly mature (I am 21 after all), but no hentai. This story was rated R because of my tendency to be profuse with the profanity. Till next time,

Ying Fa


	8. Facing Facts

Disclaimer: I don't own either show. 'Nuff said.

Look at the end for Author's Notes. ; )

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter Seven

Facing Facts

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hotaru began telling the story of how she and Rei had been taken and raised, noticing that her sister left shortly after the beginning of the story, but not noticing Heero's later departure. Finishing telling Rei's part, she moved onto her own, holding both the pilots and the senshi captive with things she had not told them before. "So after the lab blew up, my father and I were the only survivors. It was just the two of us for a long time, but my father had changed, he was colder. He was always spending time locked away in his lab, leaving me with his assistant, a woman called Kaori Nite (AN. Gee, I wonder who that could be?). Kaori was awful to me, she would lock me in my room for hours on end and when I would try to tell my father, she would say I was just playing for attention then lock me in the cellar without food when he was gone. While she was with us, I became very sickly; I couldn't do a lot of things. When I was fourteen, I met the girls, with their help I was able to convince my father of what Kaori was doing. He tried to help me and she injured him. I've been living with two others while my father was in the hospital. He doesn't remember me. That's why I had no problem leaving to find Wufei here."

The pilots were shocked, and they didn't even know the whole story behind Kaorinite. The senshi were shocked as well. They had just assumed that Hotaru was sickly because of the initial accident. They hadn't realized that Kaori was purposefully keeping Hotaru weak so that Mistress Nine would be able to maintain a stronger hold over her. They sat in an uncomfortable silence, unsure of how to follow Hotaru's story when Rei ran in from the balcony, past everyone and out the door, leaving a bewildered looking Heero standing on the balcony, his jacket crumpled at his feet. Hotaru immediately jumped up. "Rei", she called after her sister, "What's wrong?"

She moved to chase after her along with a few other girls when a hand stopped her. She looked up into a pair of light blue eyes, feeling an odd sensation run up her arm momentarily before she broke free and ran after Rei.

Quatre shivered from the feelings he got in his momentary contact with Hotaru. His empathic sense had never acted in this way before and he was confused by it. On the normal level, he couldn't sense much above her surface emotions, but when he touched her, it was as if he was inside her, feeling all that she had gone through. He could feel her hurt, anxiety, happiness at finding Wufei, and especially her underlying grief that seemed to be an integral part of her emotional core. He snapped out of it to find that all the girls had left or were in the process of leaving in chase of Rei. Only Minako was still in the room and she was looking at him with worry in her eyes. He smiled at her to show he was okay and she moved towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. This action caused him to feel the warmth and love that was Minako, but she too had a similar sense of underlying pain that was well hidden. She seemed to see his thoughts and smiled warmly at him. "It'll be alright Quatre-san", she said, "we just need to go after Rei." Handing him a small slip of paper she added, "The others forgot, but this is our address and phone number. Tell Wufei that you guys can stop by anytime for that DNA test. Ja!"

And with that she took off in pursuit of the rest of her friends.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

10 minutes beforehand, the balcony…

Rei broke the kiss, breathing heavily, refusing to meet Heero's gaze, afraid of what she might see there. "I…I'm sorry", she said, "I…I shouldn't…I mean I…"

At a loss for words, she turned and ran, dropping Heero's jacket at his feet. Heero stared at the piece of cloth uncomprehendingly for a few moments before realizing what had just happened. Dammit! he thought What the hell am I doing? I barely even know the girl and I end up kissing her. I…I just feel connected to her somehow…and now I've probably scared her shitless. All that talk about men mistreating her and I go and kiss her. Some perfect soldier I am.

His thoughts were interrupted by Wufei storming out onto the balcony, katana in hand. "What did you do to her Yuy?" he demanded, "Why did she run?"

Heero gave them his best "I-will-kill-you" glare, hoping that it would mask his internal conflict and shrugged. "We were talking about circumstances in life. Hers were surprisingly similar to mine. We talked about them. She ran."

Wufei narrowed his eyes at the pilot of Wing Zero. "If I find out you lied to me or that you laid one hand on my sister, I will kill you, slowly, while making you listen to Maxwell here and his inane chatter."

"Hey I resent that!" Duo called to Wufei's now retreating form, "Besides, I thought he still wanted a DNA test?"

"It's a good idea", Quatre said quietly, "I get the feeling that they're hiding something from us and we can't be too careful. Not with so much at stake here."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rei kept running, not stopping until she reached the driveway in front of the school. What was I thinking? I just met the guy and I've already spilled my guts to him and kissed him. Not even Yuiichiro knew that much about me and he lived with us for so long.

She sat heavily down on the steps, drawing her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. It was his eyes…I felt like I was drowning in them. He knew…he understood…and that's what frightens me.

"REI!"

"Rei are you alright? You're crying?"

She brought her hand up to her cheek, surprised at the wetness she found there. "I'm fine minna," she reassured her friends, "I was just…I don't know…I had to get out of there, okay? Please don't ask me why, I'm not too sure myself really. Right now I just want to go home."

"Alright," Minako said, "No worries. _I_ remembered to give them our address and phone number after you all went running off so I'm sure they'll be by tomorrow for that test. They still seemed kind of suspicious of us after we all went running. Particularly Quatre for some reason."

"Oh and you were _particularly_ watching Quatre for some reason, hmmm?" Makoto asked, a sly look on her face.

Minako punched her in the arm while Hotaru grew thoughtful at the comment. "Now that you mentioned it," she said, "When Quatre grabbed my arm, I got this weird feeling, almost like how I feel when I heal someone, but different. It was so quick I almost dismissed it."

"Seems like we're not the only ones hiding things, huh?" Ami said dryly, "And here I thought this dimension would be little quieter, more time for study you know."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

O.O oookaaaay…here it is people, chapter seven…please don't hurt me but as I had pointed out to me, Heero and Rei immediately having a relationship is kinda unrealistic (well hello, excuse me? Fanfic?). Anyways, this was planned before I started getting reviews so there. I'm kinda tired now so thanks to everyone who reviewed (even those that criticized my last chapter). I was lazy in getting this one out because I went and saw Spiderman and Star Wars (Which, by the way, is so depressing. Anakin is too cute, I don't want him to become Darth Vader. He looks hot in his Jedi outfit). Plus, I just got a part in a play that's going to be in the Winnipeg Fringe Festival!!! It will go towards me eventually getting an actor's equity card which means I won't be paid peanuts anymore (on the rare occasions that I do get paid). So, if you don't here from me in a while, it means I'm working, rehearsing, or working. But never fear, this story _is _going somewhere if you just be patient (*glares at Heero and Rei who have taken away her remote control* "But I wanna watch the star wars special!" * gun cocks * "eeep").

Um…bye?

Ying Fa

Oh yeah…Yuiichiro/Chad is the worst character _ever_. I maintain the hope that a very large youma will squash him soon. Read _Need_ and _Boys Don't Cry (formerly The Resurrection of Shinigami_). They are kick ass stories. Two of my many favorites.


	9. The Truth Can Hurt but Needles Hurt More

Disclaimer: If I owned either show, Rei and Heero would be together and Yuuichiro/Chad would be a stain on the bottom of Wing Zero's foot.

Author's Notes: It's been a while, huh? I am just starting to wind down from an absolutely crazy summer and I have my fall semester starting next week. On a high note, my fringe play did extremely well (we got 5 stars and an extra two holdover shows) and I got paid money!!! I'll be extremely busy with classes however so there may be long intervals between chapters. So sorry but it has to be this way. Thanks to all my reviewers, especially Priscilla, lady pyro, sky princess and Tahjako Hino, who have by far been the best reviewers ever. Not that everyone else isn't, and believe me, if you review me, I try to return the favour. Anyways, on with the story.

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter Eight

The Truth Can Hurt But Needles Hurt Worse

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Rei closed her eyes against the heat emanating from the fireplace in her bedroom. She had been seated here for hours after the party, yet she was still unable to rest. Her encounter with Heero on the balcony had left her feeling as though someone had taken her entire world, shaken it up, and replaced it upside down. She couldn't deny her own reactions towards Heero, but she couldn't understand them yet. Yes, she had been attracted to other men before, but never on such an intense level. She had turned to the fire for answers but it only created more questions, responding to her queries by simply showing an image of Heero in its flickering depths. Finally giving up, Rei returned to her bed and allowed herself to fall asleep, images of Prussian blue eyes haunting her dreams. 

Minako lay awake in bed, pondering what Hotaru had told them all. So, Quatre possessed some sort of psionic abilities, this would make it difficult to keep their secret safe. Rolling over onto her side while considering all the possible consequences of this, she finally came up with a solution that seemed reasonable. Our only choice is to keep Quatre under near-constant surveillance. Rei or Hotaru would be the best for this job, but they've just been reunited with their brother. Since I am the leader of the Inner Senshi, it's my duty to ensure their safety so I'll take this duty on myself. After all, it's the least I can do. 

Smiling with satisfaction at her logic, Minako rolled over once more and promptly fell asleep.

Hotaru sat on the window seat in her bedroom, looking out at the moonless sky. Maybe it's some kind of omen? she thought to herself as she absently rubbed the sore spot on the back of her neck. 

Maybe we just weren't meant to find happiness. She pulled her pendant out from her nightgown and traced a finger over the lines of the dragon, stopping at it's amethyst eyes, so like another pair of eyes that belonged to one who was slowly worming their way into her thoughts. Then again…

Ami was pacing, a habit that she rarely let herself indulge in but today was an exception. She couldn't believe the nerve of that…that…baka otoko! Call her an onna indeed. Then he had to go and attack Hota-chan like that. When Hotaru had reverted back to being an infant, all the girls had helped to look after her and she became like a younger sister to them all. Seeing Wufei grab Hotaru had brought back bad memories that she didn't want to recall. And then, after finding out that they were his sisters, he goes and demands a DNA test. Throwing herself onto her bed, she silently fumed, refusing to think about how sweet he had looked when he had been embracing his long-lost sisters. Jerk…bakayaro…stubborn, pig-headed son of a… and with those thoughts still stewing, Ami drifted off to sleep.

Makoto violently attacked the punching bag before her, working out her frustrations the best way she knew how. After they had gotten home from the party, the other girls had gone straight to bed but Makoto had gone down to their workout room, too wound up too sleep. As she hit the bag, she pictured first Wufei's face, then Kaorinite's. Slowly, another face began to appear in her mind and she felt herself beginning to calm down. Finally, she let herself stop, finding that she couldn't hold onto her anger with a certain pair of emerald eyes invading her thoughts.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning…

* Bing-Bong *

"I've got it!" Hotaru yelled, racing to the door and just beating Minako there. A small scuffle ensued, ending with Ami opening the door while Makoto pulled the two girls apart.

Wufei stopped with his hand mid-way to the bell when the door swung open, revealing a tomato red Ami and Makoto holding the two sheepish looking fighters. "Oh, hi?" Ami said, "Come on in. Just ignore them, just a minor disagreement."

"Let's get over with the pleasantries," Wufei cut in, "We're here for the DNA test and I want Yuy here to conduct it."

Rei walked into the room in time to catch the end of the conversation. "Excuse me?" she asked, "That wasn't one of our conditions. The deal was that we decide who conducts the test."

"We have to consider the possibility that you could be working against us and that anyone you choose would alter the tests," Quatre interjected, before Wufei could reply.

"We could say the same of you," Minako shot back, all her mirth from her scuffle with Hotaru gone.

"What do you have to hide?" Trowa commented from where he stood at the back of the group.

All the girl's eyes swung towards him and he was startled by the intensity of their stares. Rei's violet eyes narrowed, then seemed to shift and Trowa felt as though she was looking past him and into his soul. After what felt like an eternity, she looked away and said, "Fine. Heero can conduct the tests but Ami will assist. That way we all can be sure that nobody tampered with them. Also, only Heero and Ami are allowed in with the Wufei, Hotaru and myself. The rest of you can wait up here."

"Agreed," Wufei responded curtly, "Where are we doing this?"

"Basement," Hotaru replied, "We have a lab down there."

At the guys' suspicious glances she added, "Ami and I are both studying pre-med."

"Let's get this over with," Rei cut in impatiently, "This way."

Heero, Hotaru, Ami and Wufei followed her down the stairs into the basement and past the workout room into the lab. Heero was impressed by the setup. Everything here was state of the art. Dr. J would kill to get his hands on some of this stuff. Rei walked over to him and took the case from his hands. "Is this your equipment for the tests?" she asked. 

Heero nodded his head in reply, not trusting his own voice when the warmth from her hand brushed against his as she took the case. Shaking his head slightly to clear thoughts of her from it, he began to unpack the equipment. He never noticed Rei make a slight signal to Ami, who began promptly scanning all the devices with her mini-computer. Looking up from the readout, she gave the all clear, signaling that they hadn't been tampered with.

"I'm going to need your hand," he said, holding out his own.

Rei placed her hand in his and allowed him to draw a small amount of blood from her fingertip. In her rush to get her hand away from the tingly sensations Heero's hand was causing to run up and down her spine, the needle shifted. "Kuso!" she said, pulling her finger away and sticking it in her mouth.

Heero watched her do this intently, until Hotaru poked him impatiently for her turn. Tearing his eyes away, he grabbed a fresh needle and repeated the process with her and Wufei without incident. Once the samples had been taken, Heero and Ami divided each sample between the two of them and set to testing. "This may take a short while," Ami told them, not looking up from her work, "Why don't you go and wait with the others?"

"All right," Hotaru said, jumping up from the stool she was sitting on, "Let's go!"

"I'd rather stay here if that's all right," Rei replied, "But you two can go on if you like."

"I'm staying if she's staying," Wufei added in stubbornly.

"Suit yourself," Hotaru called over her shoulder as she went out the door, "I'll be back in ten to see if you're ready."

Rei and Wufei waited silently while Heero and Ami worked away. Hotaru returned after ten minutes and decided to stick around and wait for the results with her older siblings. Finally, they were ready.

"Well, I checked and double-checked but the results came out the same each time," Heero began, holding up a printout for all to see, "If you look here, you see the DNA pattern for the three of you is nearly identical. There is no question that you are siblings. But if you look here, Rei and Hotaru's patterns alter radically, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that these kinds of patterns are impossible in a human being."

"If they are most definitely my sisters, then they have to be human, don't they?" Wufei demanded.

"Why don't we ask them?" came Heero's reply.

"Ummm…well you see…"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ooohh…a cliffie! I would have written more but my sister is demanding I hurry up with the computer. Have no fear though…it's the long weekend so I should have time to get in another (and hopefully longer) chapter. Please remember, I get lazy and slightly depressed if I don't get at least 10 reviews? Happy Long Weekend!

Li Ying Fa


	10. Honesty is the Best PolicyTo a Point

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…so don't bother suing.

Author's Notes: Okay, Okay…so I promised before the long weekend…but as someone so aptly wrote, I downloaded a social life. Fortunately, I have a little spare time today (between the mountain of classwork I have to do to certify as a teacher). So if you don't hear from me, it means one of three things: A) I've been buried under assignments and lesson plans; B) I'm out partying or C) I have writer's block (which happens often). Plus, the play I did this summer will be doing a tour of high schools in Winnipeg so I'm going back into rehearsal. I'll try to make my chapters longer but I can't seem to think that far ahead. Anyways, enjoy!

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter Nine

Honesty is The Best Policy…To a Point

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ummm…well you see…"

"Spit it out already Onna!"

Rei gave Wufei a death glare very similar to the one Heero had on his face at the moment. "If there are no more interruptions, " she stated icily, "I can explain."

Looking around at everyone calmly, she continued, "None of this is to leave the room. And if it does, trust me, I'll know and it won't be pretty."

Wufei snorted, getting up, "Riight…I realize that you're my sisters but what could you possibly have to hide that is so damned important."

Before he realized it, Ami was beside him and had shoved him back into his seat. "Trust me," she said, "You need to hear this."

"Hotaru and I _are_ human…for the most part, " Rei explained, "We simply have…talents…that make us…different from other people. Your friend Quatre appears to have similar abilities to us, though not quite on our level."

Heero stared at her unwaveringly for a few moments then finally said, "So you're both empaths? That doesn't explain why your DNA is different from that of most humans. Quatre shows up as completely normal on tests."

"She told you, " Hotaru replied, "Quatre's not on the same level as us. Plus, we've had to use our abilities often in the past. Most likely more than Quatre has ever had to. And no, we're not solely empaths. I have more skill in the empathic area than Rei does because of my ability to heal. Rei's abilities are more along telepathy and clairvoyance."

"That's impossible, " Heero said, "No one can see the future or heal. If they could, there would be no wars. Empathy I can sort of accept because I've seen Quatre use his, but what you're talking about is impossible."

"Do you want proof?" Rei whirled on him angrily, "Fine."

Rei stormed over to the table and grabbed a scalpel from it. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Wufei asked, alarmed at what his sister might do, "Put it down!"

"No! He wants proof, I'll give him proof!"

With that, Rei brought the scalpel down onto her arm, creating a gash along her wrist.

"Kuso," Heero swore, looking around for something to stop the bleeding.

"Why are you so calm, "Wufei yelled, in a state of near panic, "She's bleeding!"

"She'll be fine, "Ami replied, "Hotaru, if you would?"

The younger girl nodded and headed towards her older sister. "Did you have to make it so bloody Rei?"

"You know me, anything to prove a point."

Hotaru laid her hand over the gash and closed her eyes. To Heero and Wufei's amazement, a purple glow came over her hand and when she took it away, the injury had vanished. Hotaru's eyes snapped open with disapproval. "Rei, that was worse than it looked. If I hadn't been here to heal it, you could have ended up in the hospital or worse."

Rei looked away from her sister's admonishing gaze to meet a pair of icy blue eyes watching her speculatively. "Well that proves Hotaru's abilities, but what about yours? "Heero challenged.

His breath caught when Rei's own eyes accepted the challenge and lit up with an inner fire. "Ever the skeptic Mr. Yuy," she replied, "Fine, but don't hold me responsible if you see things you don't like."

She closed the distance between them in a few steps and took his hands into hers. Suddenly he was bombarded with images that obviously came from Rei.

* "_Ojii-chan, where did Mommy go?" chibi-Rei asked her grandfather._

"She went to Heaven," he replied.

"But who will protect me when daddy is angry and hits?" *

* "Witch!"

"I heard she put a spell on Yuki."

"Better watch out or she'll sic her crows on you." *

* "Kaidou?"

"He's not coming Rei. He's out wedding shopping with his fiancée. She's the daughter of a leading politician. He knows what's good for his career."

"But he said he loved me." * 

Rei was bombarded by images from Heero's past as well.

__

* The little boy looked at the man standing before him. "Remember Odin…the perfect soldier shows no emotion...has no emotion. You have to be strong."

With that, the man walked away, leaving Odin on his own once more. * 

* Heero surveyed the wreckage he had created with apathy until something caught his eye. Walking over to it, he discovered it was a teddy bear. The heart that he thought he had turned to ice squeezed painfully in his chest when he realized what he had done. * 

* "Heero?"

"What am I doing here Trowa? I should be dead."

"Don't talk like that Heero. You're still needed."

"There's no place for me in a world of peace." * 

They broke apart, identical looks of shock on their faces. 

"What was that?" Wufei demanded.

Rei recovered her voice and replied shakily, " I…I don't know. I don't understand…that's never happened before."

"Are you all right?" Hotaru asked worriedly as Ami scanned them both with her computer.

"I'm fine," Rei replied, "Just a little surprised, that's all."

Wufei looked to Ami, "What do your scans show?"

Ami continued to look at the screen intently, "Physically, they're both fine. I'm just picking up higher brain activity in both which is normal with telepathic activity."

"I believe you."

"I know," Rei replied, not meeting Heero's eyes.

"Since Ami-san knows your secret. What about the others? Do they have 'abilities' as well?" Wufei asked.

"It's not for us to tell you, nor is it any of your business," Hotaru replied shortly. 

Everyone in the room seemed to tense, shifting uncomfortably in the awkward silence that followed. Finally, Ami took the initiative and stated, "We should go tell everyone the news. They're probably anxious to find out the results as well."

They all agreed and filed out into the living room where everyone had eventually gathered to wait.

"Well," Hotaru began, "It's official. Both Heero and Ami have confirmed it. Wufei is mine and Rei's older brother."

Minako eyed each person critically, "Then why do you all look as though someone killed your donkey?"

All the girls sweatdropped.

"Um, I believe the expression is 'killed your cat' Miss Aino."

"Cat, donkey, same thing," she replied, flashing Quatre a cute smile, making his entire head go red.

"I can name a few cats that might object to that," Makoto told her friend dryly.

"Have you ever tried to give Artemis a flea bath?" Minako shot back.

"Now that we've gotten completely off topic," Hotaru interjected, causing Makoto and Minako to shoot apologetic looks in response, "I think we're all just a little overwhelmed by the entire thing."

"That's completely understandable Miss Chang," Quatre replied, "And I'm sure we're not helping matters any. Why don't we all just go and let this sink in for now. We can come back at a better time if you'd like."

"No that's all right. In fact, why don't you all stay for dinner," Rei said suddenly, "From what I remember of Fei-chan here, he was kind of a stick in the mud. He's changed a lot since then so it would be nice to get to know his friends. I can tell that he relies on you for a lot."

She was answered with silence and a sea of surprised faces. "What?" She demanded.

"Nothing Rei-chan," Makoto replied hurriedly, "That sounds like a great idea. Why don't I call for take-out? I don't think I can whip anything up for this many people in such a short time."

"That's great!" Duo replied cheerily, "Of course we'll stay. Won't we guys?"

Everyone agreed albeit some a little apprehensively. "Sugoi!" Hotaru exclaimed, her happy mood restored, "Why don't we take you on a tour of the house?"

Duo practically bounced from his seat to offer Hotaru his arm. "You can take me anywhere Hota-babe."

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks. It disappeared rapidly when Wufei realized what had just been said. "Maxwell…you stay the _hell_ away from my baby sister!"

"Whoops, look like this is going to be the speed tour babe, c'mon!" 

Duo and Hotaru took off down the hallway, an irate Wufei on their tails. Everyone else soon followed, leaving Rei and Heero alone in the living room.

Rei got up, intending to join everyone else when she was stopped by a hand on her arm.

"I think we need to talk."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Wow. I think this is my longest chapter yet. Thanks everyone for the reviews. Keep'em coming. Remember, 10 or no chapter 10. Like I said, I'm busy, busy, busy but I like this story too much to leave it alone for too long. That's all for now because I'm tired and I have class and student teaching tomorrow. Review…please? 


	11. Getting to Know You

Disclaimer: No own. Not even in wildest dreams.

Author's Note's: I'm back, I'm back!! This chapter is dedicated to Priscilla, whose last chapter totally inspired me to get off my butt and write something. After all, I couldn't fall behind, could I? I wrote this entire thing in four hours in one night (actually, just now and I wrote the first paragraph about four months ago then got stalled). I really am super busy right now but I couldn't leave you all hanging. I think this is my longest chapter ever! Oh well, I didn't really need to study for that test tomorrow. I would have written more but I have class from 8:30am-7:00 at night tomorrow. Thanks to all my reviewers, you know who you are. Both new and old you are the best…you keep me writing. If you didn't review, I'd have probably killed this story a long time ago.

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter 10

Getting to Know You

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I think we need to talk."

Rei stared at the hand on her arm, reluctant to meet Heero's gaze. She didn't want to see what she saw from so many when they learned about her powers. She couldn't deal with it if there was fear, pity or disgust reflected there. Unbidden tears began to well up in her eyes, though she desperately tried to keep them from coming. Who was Heero to wreak such havoc on her emotions?

"Look at me Rei," Heero said in a tone far more gentle than his initial demand.

Slowly Rei raised her head to look Heero in the eyes. All that she could see in them was concern and curiosity. 

"What did you see?" he asked softly, "I could feel you…inside my head…even though it felt like I was inside yours."

Rei looked troubled, her eyes taking on a misty quality that made Heero's heart tighten. Am I causing her pain with my own? he wondered.

Finally, she replied, "I saw you…you were hurting and no one was doing anything to stop it…you were so alone. Except at the end, when you accepted help from Trowa…the loneliness started to ebb."

"Did…are my memories…are they hurting you?" Heero said suddenly pulling his hand away from her armed, worried that the contact might be transferring his pain to her.

Rei looked surprised at his remark, now missing the warmth of his hand. It's funny, she thought to herself, for someone who's supposed to be so cold, his touch feels so warm, like a soft flame. 

Shaking herself free of her surprise and private musings, she reassured him by taking the hand that he drew away into her own. "Your memories aren't hurting me Heero. _You_ aren't hurting me. In fact, I think just by being here, you're helping. I know what you saw from me. Sometimes... we just need to let go of old pain. That doesn't mean we should forget about it…it just means that we need to learn from it and move on. The past is the past; we can't change that. But, we can change our futures." We're only alone if we isolate ourselves from the world.

Heero's eyes widened imperceptibly as a thought strayed across his mind, We're only alone if we isolate ourselves from the world. He was pretty sure that it hadn't been his, but Rei didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. Using the comfortable silence the seemed to lapse into, he studied her, intrigued. There was definitely more to her than any other person he had met to date. She seemed to radiate with an inner flame, the light of it reflecting in her eyes. But the light of the flame wasn't the only thing that he could see in her eyes. He could also see a pain that ran so deep all he wanted to do was stay with her and find a way to banish it so that only the flame remained. Startled by the direction his thoughts seemed to be taking, he looked down, his gaze resting on their joined hands when their quiet moment was disrupted. Jerking his hand free from hers, he looked up to see Wufei storm back into the room, muttering angrily to himself. As he passed them without a glance, Heero was able to catch some of his words. "Baka Maxwell…when I get my hands on him…"

Turning back to Rei, he saw that she had a particularly smug smirk on her face and found that he couldn't help replying with his own.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Hotaru smiled at Duo as she led them through the house. Thanks to his quick actions and her knowledge of the mansion's layout, they had almost immediately been able to ditch the irate Wufei and continue the tour in peace. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend time with her brother; it was just that he was acting oddly and Duo was so much fun to be around. He made her forget a lot of the despair that she had experienced in her youth with his energy and love of life. He was fun without being overbearing and seemed to know what she could and couldn't handle with his teasing. Blushing, she led him around the corner to the final room on the tour. "And this is the training room, " she announced with a flourish, opening the wide double doors so that they could enter. 

Duo whistled at the set-up the girls had. It was good, maybe even better than the one at Quatre's mansion. The floor was hardwood with a dark black mat covering most of it. Off to one side, there was more hardwood that remained uncovered next to mirrored wall with a wooden bar parallel to the floor attached to it. There were various pieces of gymnastics equipment and extra mats stored at another end of the large space. Two heavy looking sandbags stood in opposite corners. "This is incredible," he said, "Which one of you is the fitness buff?"

"Actually," Hotaru replied, "We all use this room on a pretty regular basis. The gymnastics equipment is mainly for Rei and Mina though. They enjoy acrobatics. Mako mainly uses it to keep her martial arts in top form. Ami uses a lot of the gymnastics equipment too, but she spends most of her free time in the pool, the gymnastics are just to help keep her in shape for swimming (AN. Actually, I have no idea if this does this but oh well.). We all use the barre though, Rei's been teaching us a little ballet, it was the course offered instead of gym at her school (AN. I'm making this up because the girls need a plausible reason to have a training room. After all, they can't just say 'It's to train so we can go fight evil monsters in mini-skirts')."

"Ballet, huh?" Duo mused, his thoughts fixating on a mental image, "I always thought those little skirts ballet dancers wore were pretty hot."

He was rewarded for this comment by a smack on the arm from Hotaru. "Ecchi," she said, grinning to show that she wasn't _too_ mad at him. If Haruka-papa had heard that comment… She let the thought trail off there.

"Come on," she sighed, "Let's go rejoin the others before Onii-chan gets angrier and tries to disembowel you with his katana."

"I'd like to see him try," Duo answered, giving her the most charming smile he could muster. "Besides, you'd protect me from the wrath of the Wu-man, wouldn't you?"

Hotaru could only shake her head as she led the way back to the living room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After seeing that Ami, being the most reasonable of the senshi, followed Wufei to calm him down, Minako got down to the business at hand. On her own, she had decided that divide and conquer would be the best route to discovering what these boys were hiding. Following that logic, she had "subtly" nudged Makoto into taking Trowa on a tour of the house while she "handled" Quatre.

She led him around the house, keeping her sense alert for any unusual habits or mannerisms that he might display. Others might call this staring, but not Minako…this was surveillance. In a tiny corner of her mind though, she noted how his nose crinkled when he smiled and how looked directly into her eyes when he spoke to her rather than at her other…attributes which had gotten much attention from males in the past. She also wondered idly if it was too warm in the house, since he had taken on a rather rosy flush since the beginning of the tour that didn't seem to go away.

"Are you all right Quatre-san?" she asked leaning a little closer to him to get a better look, "You seem a little flushed."

Quatre's face darkened to a deep crimson at the attention. Oh no, she noticed me blushing, he thought to himself, Now she's going to think I was ogling her or something…Allah, she's beautiful though. That expression of curiosity is just so cute. Out loud he stuttered, "I…I'm fine Miss Minako…it's…it's just a little warm, that's all." Yeah right, she's going to see right through that. Some 'Desert Prince' I am. Duo would be laughing his ass off. Smooth Quatre, very smooth. 

Minako's face took on it's own reddish hue when she realized exactly how close she had been standing to Quatre. Something she seemed to be doing very often on this little tour. "Maybe we should head back and check on the ETA of our dinner."

Grabbing at the moment to end the awkwardness that had seeped into their conversation, Quatre offered her his arm and replied, "That sound like an excellent idea Miss Minako."

"Please, just Minako, or even Mina-chan if you prefer."

"Then you must drop the -san."

"Deal Quatre-kun?"

"Deal Minako-chan."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Makoto sighed. Minako was an excellent leader most times but she had her moments. Her idea of "subtly" dividing the tour into pairs went like this: "Hey Mako (* wink, wink*** **), why don't you take Trowa ( * nudge, nudge* ) around while I show Quatre the house?"

Shaking her head at Minako's antics, she had agreed and had dragged Trowa off to the kitchen to order in dinner.

"Am I missing something?" Trowa asked once they were in the kitchen and safely away from Minako.

"No," Makoto replied wearily, "Sometimes when Minako gets an idea into her head, it won't leave, even if you try to drag it out by force. And the idea she has now is that she wants to know everything there is to know about Quatre, even if she won't admit it to herself."

One corner of Trowa's mouth quirked upward. From what he could tell of the girls so far, Minako would be good for his shy friend. Plus, it seemed as though Quatre wouldn't object to getting to know more about Minako.

"What about you?" he asked the brunette as she hung up the phone after placing an order.

"What about me?" she replied, mystified.

"What interests you?" he asked, his one visible eye regarding her intently.

You, she thought, but caught herself before she said it aloud. "I'm not sure," she replied, "Everything here is so different from back home, but at the same time, it's exactly the same. I know I want to learn and experience new things here, but I'm happy with cooking and fighting and being with my friends. It's hard when we're not all together like this."

"You seem very close to the other girls," Trowa said softly.

"They're my family," she murmured, speaking louder she added, "My parents died when I was very young. I was on my own a lot until I met the girls. Before them, I had only one friend but I was shuttled from school to school. I kept getting kicked out for fighting. Everyone was scared of me but them. It was amazing to finally be accepted for me. They didn't see me as the 'karate maniac' or juvenile delinquent. It meant a lot."

She sat against the counter, absorbed in memories for a long moment. Trowa watched her quietly, admiration for her strength and loyalty evident in his eyes. Finally she stood, brushing imaginary dust off her jeans. Flashing him a smile she said, "Come on, I better do my duty or Minako will have my head. Besides, you can tell me all about yourself while I give you the tour."

Trowa raised an eyebrow at her dramatic shift in moods and followed her out of the kitchen, smiling internally.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ami had finally tracked Wufei down to the library. She couldn't believe that Minako would make her do this. She would have to find some way later to properly "thank" her bubbly leader for the "privilege". Entering, she spotted him in the far corner, staring at the pages of a thick, leather-bound book with enough ferocity that, had he Rei's abilities, would be ashes by now. Walking silently over to him, she checked the title. He's reading Aristotle? she thought to herself, surprised. 

Seeing that he hadn't noticed her yet, she moved behind him and commented, "Now what did Aristotle ever do to you?"

Wufei almost jumped but managed to catch himself. Instead, he turned to glare at the woman behind him. "What's it to you, onna?"

Ami refused to let his crassness get to her this time and managed to keep up her icy façade. "I have a name Chang-san, learn to use it and I might deign to answer any questions you may have. Since this is obviously a waste of my time, I'll be going now."

She turned around and practically glided to the door. Her hand was on the handle when he called out, "Wait!"

Wufei was surprised at himself. He had every intention of sitting here until dinner came where he could properly ream out Duo for daring to fraternize with his little sister. He didn't want company, especially the company of the icy little onna who had tried to asphyxiate him the previous evening. But, when he watched her head to the door, he suddenly called for her to wait without really knowing why. She turned to look at him and he scrambled for something to say. Her sapphire gaze watched him, waiting for him to blunder. Finally, he blurted, "Do you play chess?"

A slow grin spread over Ami's face as her hand came away from the knob.

"On occasion, Chang-san, I've been known to."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

~Wow…I wrote a lot…for me at least…I'm still recovering from my 40-page novel study lesson plan that I made for my English class and I can't believe that I can write coherently. Hopefully, I'll have another chapter up by the end of next week (my students are writing exams so I don't have to student teach! Yay!). Until then, thanks for sticking with me and please review. 

Ying Fa


	12. Days Go By

Disclaimer-Same as always

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter 11

Days Go By

* * *

Dinner was an interesting affair right from the get-go. About 45 minutes after placing the call to a local Chinese place, Makoto and Trowa welcomed the delivery boy and his 8 bags of food with relief. The two of them had spent the last twenty minutes putting out the small crises that cropped up between the majority of the pairs. 

Where else would the first crisis begin but in the library. Wufei had foolishly (at least in Ami's opinion) challenged the aforementioned senshi of ice to a game of chess. The crisis came when he actually beat her in their second round. This led to a moment of bewilderment on her part, smug conceit on his, then a thorough thwap on the head for him from Rei who had passed by and noticed just how smug he was being. Ami on the other hand, once she got over her shock, eyed him with a new light in her eye and promptly challenged him to a rematch. This became possibly the most heated chess rematch ever, with both groups eventually wandering in to support their preferred player.

Eventually wandering in, because each group was having their own difficulties. Hotaru and Duo had continued on with their tour of the house, eventually ending up just outside the library. Realizing just who was in the library, Duo decided to make one of the comments that he is best known for. "Jeez, who knew that Wu-man could be such a **dog**? I didn't realize he had a thing for chicks that 'punish' him."

Hotaru, being, of course, Wufei's younger sister and a good friend of Ami's, immediately took offence. "Excuse me?" she asked him with an incredulous look on her face, "Are you kidding me? What the _hell_ are you trying to say about **my older brother** and one of my **best friends**? Is that supposed to be funny? Because it's not and I certainly did not find it in the least bit amusing." With that, she turned and stormed into the library leaving a slack-jawed Duo in her wake.

It took him all of about a minute to process her mini-tirade. _Awww…shit_, he thought, before steeling himself and following her into the library to face the wrath of the Chang siblings.

The third Chang sibling remained blissfully unaware of the conflict that was brewing amongst her family. Having successfully taken her brother down a notch after he beat Ami at chess, she had returned to the living room and to Heero. "So?" he asked as she settled down beside him on the couch.

"They're playing chess," she replied with a shrug, "Apparently he just beat Ami at a round, and he was gloating so I smacked him. He needed it. He seems to be calmer than he was earlier."

"Hn," was the only response she got.

She eyed him thoughtfully, "What exactly does that mean anyways? Hn? Is it a question? An 'I don't care'"

Heero looked up at her, his brow arched slightly in surprise. "No really, I want to know," she asked, leaning forward, an intent expression on her face.

"I…I…" he faltered, _I'm not really sure myself_.

"It's okay," Rei replied softly, "If you're not sure…or if you're not comfortable telling me. I was just curious."

_How did she know?_ Heero thought to himself. He found himself edging closer to her, finding comfort in her presence. Everything about her had a soothing effect for him. Her voice, her personality, she was the complete opposite of almost every female he had ever met yet he couldn't quite categorize her. She was an enigma to him, a walking contradiction. Peaceful yet fierce. Mysterious yet open. Delicate yet iron-strong. He was drawn to her, and he was finding that he didn't want to fight that attraction.

Rei felt hyper-aware as she sat on the couch with Heero. She noticed when he began to come closer and did a little moving on her own. Ever since that moment on the balcony the previous evening, her thoughts had been clamoring around this Prussian-eyed man. The connection that had been sparked that night had been fanned into a flame when he had linked with her this morning. The memories of his past had stirred something in her and she found herself wanting to know more about him, wanting to know what kind of man that lost little boy had turned into.

Without realizing it, each had come within inches of each other, staring intently into the other's eyes as if trying to read what was going on in the other's head. Heero's hand came up slowly and brushed a strand of hair that had fallen into Rei's eyes. His hand lingered for a moment, then brushed against her cheek before coming to rest there. Rei brought her own hand up and first caressed his hand, then reached up to his cheek, bringing him closer until their foreheads touched. She grinned at him, then closed her eyes and brushed her lips against his in a feather light touch. Pulling back, she opened her eyes to judge his reaction. Heero stared at her intently. For a moment, she worried that she had done the completely wrong thing. Heero banished that thought when he pulled her back towards him and kissed her with a fierceness that she hadn't thought the unemotional man capable of. Wrapping her arms around his neck as his snaked around her waist, she returned the kiss with fervor. He responded, deepening the kiss, their tongues imitating a ritual as old as time. _Oh God…I…I've never felt like this before._

Rei's eyes snapped open as that thought, which she was positive did not belong to her, strayed across her mind. Heero noticed her sudden change of attitude and pulled away confused. Rei scooted back against the armrest of the couch and looked at him with wide eyes. _Ohshitohshitoshitohshitoshit_, Rei thought to herself as Heero looked back at her, confusion clear in his eyes. Rei just continued to stare back at him.

"Rei," he ventured, "What is it?"

Rei opened her mouth to reply then shut it. Her mind was racing, trying to think of possible reasons why something like this would happen. Heero, his pride already stung, put on his cold demeanor and stood, "Fine, don't tell me. I'll just go check on how Wufei is faring."

Rei winced as he left. She was hurt that he had reverted into his "jerk" persona but she needed some time on her own to think. _How could this have happened? How did I manage to bond myself to this person that I've known for less than a few days? And what am I going to do about it? Especially when he finds out?_

Minako and Quatre fared the best out of all the groups. Quatre was so embarrassed by his thoughts about Minako that he could only manage monosyllabic answers to the multitude of questions that she asked as they toured the house. Minako, frustrated by his lack of response, simple began to chatter more and more, basically making their entire conversation one-sided. Eventually, Quatre steered them back to the library in an effort to redirect her intense focus away from him and his life.

"How's the game going?" Minako asked as she practically bounced into the room, Quatre trailing behind her, his face still a bright red. Hotaru looked up from her place in Ami's "cheering section" and smiled, "Quite well actually. They're tied one-all and now they're working on the deciding match. Which Ami will quite obviously win." With that final comment, she turned and glared at Duo, who had been trying to discreetly move closer to her. He eeped and returned to his original seat. Minako raised an eyebrow at his behavior and moved to sit on the Ami side. Quatre, eager to get some distance between him and Minako in order to let his face cool down, sat next to Duo on the Wufei side. Both players remained completely oblivious to their audience.

"You call that an offensive move? A two-year old could have done that," Wufei snorted.

"Well obviously you can only play against a two year old since that last move has left your queen vulnerable," Ami shot back.

Quatre leaned towards Duo. "Have they been like this the entire game?" he whispered.

Duo grinned, "Yup, it's pretty funny. Didn't know the Wu-man had it in him."

Quatre simply shook his head in defeat.

The door to the library slammed open and Heero stalked in. "Whoa," Duo remarked, "Is it just me or did the temperature just drop like a hundred degrees?"

Heero turned and gave Duo one of his trademark glares before dropping into one of the seats opposite of Quatre. "Sheesh," he whispered to his blonde friend, "You'd think it was my fault his panties are suddenly in a bunch."

"Duo," Quatre replied warningly.

"Hey Heero," Duo called out, ignoring Quatre, "I thought you were with Rei? Did you just ditch her or something?"

Heero's glare intensified, "Omae wa koruso."

"Ooooookaaaaay," Duo replied, "Gotcha…don't wanna talk about Rei…backing off now…I want my limbs to remain intact."

Heero just ignored him and appeared to focus all of his attention to the game. Minako and Hotaru watched this little exchange with great interest, noticing how when Rei entered just a few minutes later, Heero's eyes immediately flicked towards her, then away. Rei took a seat beside her sister as the other two girls gave each other significant looks.

The atmosphere in the library was tense when Makoto and Trowa entered the library, the former laughing and the latter with a small smile on his lips. Both stopped short as the tension permeated their awareness. Mako frowned, "Okay, what's going on in here?"

All parties looked up at her authoritative statement, some with relief, some with bewilderment, and some with downright hostility. "Well? I'm waiting?" she asked, Trowa silently backing her up with his own stoic expression and crossed arms.

"IT'S HIS FAULT"

"IT'S HER FAULT"

"HE/SHE STARTED IT"

"…"

"Hn"

"CHECKMATE!"

Makoto closed her eyes, _It's gonna be one of those days_.

* * *

So after something of a two-year (almost three) hiatus, I have returned! So this chapter might seem a little different from my others but ah well…yeah I got a little mushy but believe me, I don't write smut…don't think I can…but the relationships will be a little more mature (I'm 24 now for crying out loud…a little tongue action in the kissing is completely fine)…go to my page her to see the hapas…hope you like! Review! I need the validation! 


	13. Not Ready to Make Nice

Disclaimer: Same as always

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter 12

Not Ready to Make Nice

* * *

_It's gonna be one of those days._

Makoto Kino didn't ask for a lot in her life. She worked hard, she cared for her friends, she took care of them when they were hurting or ill...but at this moment in time, she couldn't really give a shit, she just wanted some giant hole to come and swallow her up and save her from the drama that was unfolding before her. She would have asked for lightning to strike her down but given her powers, she wasn't really sure how effective that would be.

"Listen," she cut in before anybody else could contribute to the en masse whining, "I don't know what happened and I _really_ don't want to know. All I want is for some semblance of sanity to return to the lot of you. When you've found that, you can all come to the dining room and have something to eat. Until then no talking, no whining, no complaining, comprende?"

"But..." Duo tried to explain but was cut off when Makoto whirled around to him.

"I said, _no talking!_"

Duo eeped and immediately clamped his mouth shut, nodding at Makoto who had suddenly become very scary to him. Trowa gave her an approving gaze and held open the door for her. The two tall brunettes swept out of the room leaving the rest of the group in a slight state of shock, with the exception of Heero, whose expression had not changed at all during the entire encounter. Rei immediately stood, and with a quick glance at the rest of them, strode out of the room, heading for the dining room. After a moment's hesitation, Heero followed. "Well," Hotaru said slowly, "That was...interesting. I'm gonna go get some food now. Anyone else?"

Ami stood to follow her and in the process, accidentally tipping the chessboard onto the floor. Wufei stood indignantly, "You did that on purpose!"

Ami simply raised an eyebrow at him, "That's a nasty accusation Mr. Chang. I think I take offence to that. Besides, I had you in checkmate."

With that, she proceeded out of the room, Hotaru following her, impressed that her usually shy friend had said that to her brother. She had never seen Ami act like this before in her life. _I wonder how Wufei always manages to get Ami so riled up? _She pondered, _I'll mention it to Rei later and see what she has to say._

Dinner was a sombre affair. Despite the combined attempts of Duo, Minako, Quatre and Hotaru, no one seemed to feel like talking. After it was finished, the boys gave their excuses and quickly headed off before they got yelled at again. Quatre remained behind for a few short moments to apologize for the behaviour of his comrades and thank the girls for a lovely evening. Closing the door behind them, Minako turned to face her friends, a sly expression on her face, "I think it's sharing time ladies."

Groans were heard from all as their bubbly leader advanced on them.

* * *

Rei lay back in her bed, sleep eluding her despite having spent several hours listening to the others re-hash the events of the day. She herself had said very little, still in turmoil over her own experiences. Somehow, she and Heero had bonded in a way that was rare even among her own people. The Martian race had been renowned for their abilities in the realm of the mind but this kind of connection was something unheard of, especially in two people of different races. It spoke of something on the level of a soul-bond. _It's impossible,_ Rei thought to herself, _I must be reading too far into this. After all, we're in new territory here. Our powers have evolved further than they had in the past. This must simply be a new ability manifesting itself. Although, why would it happen with Heero and not with the other girls? Particularly with Hotaru?_

Her thoughts grew increasingly troubled as she turned and attempted to settle in for what she knew was going to be a long night.

* * *

The first day of school dawned clear and sunny. However, life in the girls' home seemed a counterpoint to that morning. The day before, a package had arrived containing the girls' schedules and, to their horror, uniforms. "Is it just me?" Makoto questioned, coming down the stairs, "Or does anyone else feel like a stewardess?"

The other girls smirked in response. "I thought we'd be done with uniforms once we finished high school," Rei sighed.

Each girl was clad in a navy blue pleated skirt that fell just above the knee. This was paired with a dark grey blazer, trimmed in navy with the school crest embroidered over the breast pocked. A crisp white blouse, navy tie and grey knee socks completed the ensemble. "Ah well," Rei shrugged, "At least the skirts are longer than what TA made us wear."

"And on a better note," Hotaru added in, "Setsuna managed to match nearly all our classes to ones we would have been taking, with a few notable exceptions."

"No kidding," Minako scoffed, "Principles of Pacifism? I can't believe that it's a required course. Along with everyone having to take a physical education course."

"At least we're all in the same slots for those," Ami said, trying to cheer the others up.

"What classes does everyone have first?" Minako asked.

"I have Musical Theory and Interpretation," Rei replied.

"Me too," Ami added, "I want to explore the harp in case it helps my Rhapsody attack."

The others nodded. "I have Literature in Pre-colony Earth, whatever that is," Hotaru said, examining her schedule.

"I'm in that class too," Minako gushed, glad to have someone she knew in the class with her, "How about you Mako?"

"I have Philosophy first," she replied, frowning slightly, "Looks like I'm on my own first period."

"No worries Mako-chan," Minako told her tall friend, "Maybe there will be some totally hot guys in your class and you'll be glad I'm not there, monopolizing their attention with my stunning good looks."

"Not to mention her incredible modesty," Rei cut in sarcastically, "We need to get going or we're going to be late."

The others grumbled and headed for the door but Rei was halted as Hotaru stopped suddenly and swung around to face her. "Are you all right Rei-chan?" she questioned, "You look exhausted and you haven't quite been yourself the past few days. Is it because Fei-chan hasn't come by? I think he's trying to avoid Ami."

"I'm fine Hotaru," Rei replied, giving her sister a small smile, "I've just been having trouble sleeping lately. It's just a bit of anxiety, lots of things are happening after all: school, Wufei, and all that. Don't worry about me."

A loud honk sounded from the driveway, saving Rei from further scrutiny by the youngest Chang. "We better get out there before Minako mistakenly assumes that she will be the one driving today."

Unsatisfied with Rei's reply yet unable to do anything about it at the current moment, Hotaru merely nodded and followed her sister out to the car.

* * *

"Good morning students an faculty. Welcome to a new year here at the Peacecraft Institute. As I'm sure you are all aware by now, I am Relena Peacecraft. I'm very pleased that you have all decided to attend this school. You may now proceed to your first slot courses. Have a great day!"

"That was like, five minutes of my life I'll never get back," Rei commented dryly as they proceeded out of the auditorium.

"No kidding," Makoto replied, "I mean honestly, was there really any point to that?"

"Whatever," Minako interrupted as they came upon a crossroads in the hallway, "Looks like this is where we part ways, huh?"

"Looks like," Hotaru agreed, "See you guys in Phys Ed?"

The other girls nodded and separated, heading to their various classes.

* * *

Ami and Rei

The main music room was basically a large lecture hall with about half the seats missing. In their place sat various large instruments, music stands and folding chairs. Many students were also clutching instrument cases of assorted sizes, having been told to bring them for this first session. Both of the girls played large instruments so fortunately, they did not have to tote them around. Looking around, Rei spotted a familiar head of blonde hair. "Quatre, I forgot that you guys went here too. Come on Ami, let's sit here. Oh, and Trowa too."

"Hello Miss Chang, Miss Mizuno," Quatre said politely as the two girls settled into the vacant seats beside him, "I see we're not the only music enthusiasts around. What instruments do you two play?"

Trowa greeted the two girls with a nod of his head. "Please, call me Ami," came the equally polite response, "I play the standing harp."

"Yes Quatre," Rei added, "You don't need to be so formal. Our first names are fine. We're friends now, aren't we? I play the piano, and yourself?"

"I play quite a few instruments," Quatre replied, "I mainly focus on the violin though. Trowa here plays the flute."

Their conversation was cut short by the professor beginning the class, "Good morning students. It seems all of you dare call yourselves musicians by signing up for my class. Well, let me tell you, this will be no easy credit for you. You earn your place in this class. Starting today in fact. Going down the list alphabetically, you will each perform a piece of your choice on an instrument of your choice. There is to be no sheet music, this will be from memory. You will play until I ask you to stop. And if I ask you to leave, you are never to darken my doorstep again."

"This should be an interesting class," Rei murmured to no one in particular.

* * *

Minako and Hotaru

"We're not going to make it!" Hotaru panted as she and Minako careened around a corner.

"We are!" Minako told her dark-haired friend cheerfully, "That's the room there!"

"That's what you said the last four times," came the exasperated reply.

This time however, Minako was right and both girls made it into the room with seconds to spare. Every eye in the room swung to the dishevelled pair standing in the doorway. The professor cleared her throat, "Ladies, if you could take a seat?"

Nodding, both girls scanned the crowded lecture hall only to discover that there were only two seats left and they happened to be on either side of Heero Yui. "Looks like no one wants to sit beside Mr. Personality there," Minako whispered as she and Hotaru made their way up the stairs of the hall. Hotaru gave her a small grin in response.

"Ohayo Yui-san," Minako chirped to the aforementioned scowling man, "I don't suppose you'd move over one so that Hotaru and I could sit together would you?"

A glare was all she got in response. "Guess not then," Minako muttered, making herself as much of a nuisance to him as she possibly could as she took the seat on his left. Hotaru suppressed a smile as she took the seat on the opposite side of Heero thinking, _He's in for it now._

True to form, no more than a few minutes after the professor began lecturing, a tiny folded piece of paper flew directly across Heero's nose and landed in Hotaru's lap. Sneaking a peek at her neighbour, Minako, the source of the note, was satisfied to find that Heero was staring resolutely at the professor, clearly trying to ignore her antics. Just then, another tiny note went sailing, just brushing past Heero's nose, to land in Minako's lap. Both girls were rewarded with a tiny twitch in Heero's lower jaw. To be perfectly honest, the notes said nothing of any importance. Minako just wanted to annoy Heero for not doing the gentlemanly thing and moving over. That's why she waited just long enough for Heero to think that another note wouldn't follow before she launched not number three. To both senshi's shock, Heero snatched it out of midair without even taking his gaze away from the professor or taking his other hand away from his note-taking. He finished up the sentence he was typing into his laptop then turned to face Minako, his gaze cold, "_Cut it out_. Or I will do it for you."

Minako merely returned his gaze coolly, seeming to weigh his threat in her mind. Hotaru raised an eyebrow at her friend and shrugged. "Since you asked so nicely," Minako replied sweetly, turning and dismissing him completely. Heero sat there confused at the sudden change in attitude while both girls dug their laptops out of their bags and began to take notes on the lecture. Leaning back slightly, he caught a glimpse of Minako's screen. Instead of notes, he found that she had opened up and IM service and appeared to be sending a message to… _Rei._

* * *

Makoto

_Philosophy is a lot more entertaining then I thought it would be,_ Makoto thought to herself as she sat with her face in her hands. Her pose was reflected by many of the other students and even the professor looked like he wanted to join in. The source of this dismay and subsequent entertainment was Rei's hot-headed brother Wufei and his apparent nemesis, the ever-cheerful Duo. Makoto was sure that the professor was regretting asking for feedback from the class, it merely sparked argument after argument between the two young men. _It's interesting actually, _she thought to herself, _Personality-wise, Wufei and Duo are a lot like Rei and Minako, but where the girls are best friends, the boys are at each-others' throats. _Her musings were cut off by the ringing of the bell. Everyone in the class heaved a sigh of relief and raced to the door to get away from the two combatants. Makoto shook her head a followed at a more leisurely pace. Stopping at the spot where the two still argued, she levelled an arch look at Duo, causing him to emit a less-than-manly squeak, grab his stuff and run for the door. He still remembered how scary she was from a couple of days ago. Turning to face Wufei, she gave him a smack upside the head for the smug smirk he wore at Duo's departure then headed out the door herself, feeling quite satisfied.

* * *

"Welcome to Physical Education," the teacher announced, looking smugger than any teacher had a right to be, "Since today is the first day of classes, I thought we would have a little fun. What we're going to do today is the ultimate test of your survival skills. This exercise will separate the weak from the strong, the hunters and the prey, the…"

The teaching assistant interrupted his ramblings with a well timed cough. "Right," he continued, unabashed at his tangent, "Today we will be playing…BOMBARDMENT! Boys versus Girls."

Sweatdrops were seen all around the gym. "Is he serious?" Makoto hissed as the girls were herded to one side of the gym, "We're playing a glorified form of _dodgeball_?"

Minako rubbed her hands together in unholy glee, "Dodgeball. And I know exactly who's going to win. We're going to take those boys down, particularly your brother and his friends Rei-chan."

Rei shook her head, "You're enjoying this way too much Minako." A blonde-haired girl near them laughed, "Why shouldn't she? Those boys look way too sure of themselves. It's always good to take them down a notch or two."

"She raises a good point," Ami agreed, "Your brother particularly needs to be schooled in what a woman can do, chauvinist jerk that he is."

"He sound like this guy I know," the blonde put in again, "I'm Dorothy by the way."

The girls set about introducing themselves and getting ready for the game to start. The teacher was just about to blow the whistle to start the game play when the doors to the gym flew open and a brunette came running in, out of breathe. Dorothy groaned, "I was hoping she wasn't in this slot but I guess the temptation of seeing Heero in his gym clothes was too much for her."

Rei raised an eyebrow at the other girl, asking without words. Dorothy noticed her look and replied, "Relena's obsessed with Heero. She met him way back during the colony wars and can't seem to take the hint that he's not interested. It's pretty funny to watch her chase after him. He's usually really good at dodging her but with…anyways…um, that's probably why she's in this class when she doesn't really have to be."

Hotaru watched her sister out of the corner of her eye as she absorbed this information. _Rei's brooding, _she thought, _I wonder what's really going on with her and Heero._ Her thoughts were interrupted when the whistle blew and the gym became a chaos of running students and flying foam balls.

* * *

It would go down as one of the most memorable games of bombardment in the history of the Peacecraft Institute. The highlight for the majority of the players was when Hotaru "accidentally" took out one of her own team members. Of course, what made it a highlight was that member just happened to be one Relena Peacecraft. Her departure from the game seemed to set the competition even harder, and both teams struggled to take out as many opposing members as possible. Finally, each team was left with five players (can you guess who they are?). There was a pause as both groups assessed the other team. The pilots were, for their part, surprised that victory was still eluding them. They had been so focussed on taking out the girls that they hadn't realized which girls were subtly eluding being hit while not being marked as threats by them. The senshi weren't as surprised, but their expectation for victory was just as solid as the pilots' had been. Now, neither team was too sure.

Rei made the first move, throwing the gauntlet down, "Aww, Fei-chan, can't hit your sisters? That's so sweet."

Her taunting had the desired result, he turned bright red and pitched a ball directly at her, not seeing that Ami had launched one a split second after her threw his. Rei danced nimbly away from his throw but Ami's hit him directly in the middle of his chest. Sensing rather than seeing another ball coming at her, Rei spun, narrowly avoiding the ball Heero had thrown just after Ami threw hers. This seemed to be a signal to both teams to jump back into action. Ami was the next to be sent off, caught by Trowa, who was proving to be pretty sneaky. Makoto retaliated by catching Quatre while he tried to catch a ball lobbed at him by Minako. Duo executed an impressive dodge-and-roll manoeuvre that avoided Rei's throw, but was hit coming out of the roll by a laughing Hotaru. Heero managed to take out both Hotaru and Makoto by ricocheting the ball first off the smaller girl then hitting the taller who was trying to help her out. Trowa and Minako managed to take each other out at exactly the same time, leaving just two members standing on the field. It was at this moment that Rei realized that all the balls had rolled over to Heero's side of the gym. _Crap._

Heero smirked at the girl standing across from him. She had no chance now. All he had to do was throw the balls hard enough that even if he didn't hit her, they would strike with enough force to roll back to his side. All she could do now was dodge. What he didn't realize was that Rei had no intention of backing down. Taking up three balls, he eyed her and let the first one loose, followed rapidly by the second and third as he mapped out her most logical course in dodging them. One of them had to hit. To his and the rest of the astonished class' eyes, Rei spun to avoid the first ball, launched immediately into a front flip to avoid the second, then dropped into the splits to avoid the third. "Woohoo Rei-chan!" Minako shouted, "Win it for us!"

Recovering quickly, Heero scooped up several more balls as the ones he had thrown were rolling back towards him and threw them at the agile senshi. It continued on for several minutes like this until finally, the teacher blew his whistle and called it a draw. Rei and Heero however, continued to stare at each other until the latter's concentration was broken when an over enthused Relena glomped onto him, "Heero! You were so good! I'm sure if the teacher hadn't called it a draw you would've gotten her in no time."

Glancing back at Rei, he shook Relena off and headed for the boys' changing room. Rei was about to head off to change herself when she was stopped by several of her fellow classmates wanting to congratulate her for her incredible display. _Oyy,_ she thought to herself, _This is what I get for wanting to beat Heero._

* * *

It took Rei several minutes to shake off her well-wishers and head out of the gym towards the change rooms. The other senshi had merely shaken their heads at Rei's fans and headed off without her. _Traitors, _Rei thought to herself, muttering dire things about stupid fanboys. So caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice the hand come out from the storage room she was passing until it grabbed her and pulled her in.

Dropping into a defensive stance, she glanced into the darkness surrounding her. A noise above her clicked as a dim light came on. Relaxing, she eyed her abductor warily, "Heero. What do you want?"

* * *

He stared at her silently, seeming to weigh words over in his mind. Staring back, she noticed that he had already managed to get back into his uniform from his gym clothes. On him, the dark pants and blazer paired with a white button-down shirt gave an air of danger, whereas on most other guys it looked preppy. His tie was hanging out of his pocket and his top few buttons weren't done up yet, drawing Rei's eyes towards his chest. _Stop it Rei, _she thought to herself, _You're not Minako or Mako. You can focus on something other then his chest._ Drawing her gaze up to his eyes, she found herself examining their Prussian depths when Heero finally spoke, "You shouldn't have been able to do that."

"Don't be sore that you couldn't hit me Heero," she replied smoothly, "It's just a game."

He moved closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders as he looked into her eyes as if searching for answers there. "You don't understand. There's no way you should have been able to do that."

Rei laughed nervously, "You need to relax Heero. Everyone has their off days. Today was just yours. I understa…"

She cut off as a feeling of dread washed over her, "Something's coming."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth when a large blast rocked the building. The light went out and plaster and dust rained down on them from above and Heero pushed away from her and headed towards the door. Another feeling assaulted her and she looked up in time to see the shelf that Heero was standing in front of wobble dangerously. Reacting instantly, she jumped at him, pushing him down and out of the way just as the shelf came tumbling down. She cried out has it managed to catch her ankle, breaking it under its weight.

* * *

Heero was warm, which surprised him, he was never warm, not even on the hottest days on Quatre's desert base. Opening his eyes, he experienced a mild disorientation when suddenly everything came flooding back to him, _Explosion. Shelf. Rei…REI!_

Looking down, he realized the warmth was coming from Rei, who was sprawled half on top of him after pushing him away from a falling shelf. He couldn't see her face in the dim light streaming in from the window as it was buried against his chest. Worry crowded in on his thoughts, "Rei?"

"Owww," came the muffled replied. Pushing herself up onto her elbows she looked over him frantically, "Are you all right?"

"Thanks to you," Heero said, relieved that she was conscious, "Are you? I thought I heard you cry out just before my head hit the floor."

"It's my ankle," she answered, wincing noticeably, "It's trapped under the shelf. I think it's broken."

"Hold on," Heero responded, easing out gently from underneath her, "I'll see what I can do."

He circled around to the other side of the shelf and braced himself. Grabbing one side, he realized that he wouldn't be able to lift it very far. _The stupid thing weighs a ton, _he thought, _Her ankle must be crushed but she's not even crying. She must be in shock._

"Rei," he said quietly, "I need you to listen to me. I can't lift this all the way up, but I'm going to lift it as far as I can. When you think you can, I need you to pull your foot away as fast as you can. I know it's going to hurt but it can't be helped, okay?"

"Do it," Rei grimly replied.

As he lifted, Rei gritted her teeth and ignored the lance of pain as she rolled away from the shelf. Seeing that she was clear, Heero let the shelf fall to the floor and went to examine her ankle. Rei shivered at his approach, sensing the turbulent emotions beneath his cool exterior. Wordlessly, he shrugged off his jacket and slipped it about her shoulders. While Heero wasn't a large man, the jacket still engulfed her, reaching covering her past her shorts. Looking away quickly, Heero turned his full attention to her injury, his earlier suspicions brought back by the fact that her ankle was merely broken, not crushed as any other person's would be if something that heavy fell upon them.

Looking around for something to bind her injury with, he only spotted several dirty looking rags. Not wanting her to get an infection on top of the break, he gave a resigned sigh and began unbuttoning his shirt. Rei snapped up, "What are you doing?"

"We need to wrap your ankle," he replied, now tearing his shirt into strips, "If we want to get out of here without making your injury worse. You might want to find something to bite down on. It looks like a clean break so I need to set it first before I bind it."

Rei nodded but didn't grab anything, when Heero gave her a questioning glance she shook her head but still didn't say anything. He took this as the go ahead and set the bone back into place. Rei's eyes watered and she let out the breath that she wasn't aware she had been holding in a pained hiss. Quickly wrapping a makeshift splint around her ankle, Heero sat back to examine his work, impressed with her reaction despite himself. "It's done," he told her, "I'm going to check the door then we can get the hell out of here."

Trying the door, he found he could only move it outwards about half an inch. Pushing as hard as he could against it he found that it wouldn't budge any farther. "Something's blocking it," he told Rei as he settled down beside her, "Most likely one of the locker sections fell against it. It looks like we're going to be here for a while."

* * *

AN. Hey! I'm still here. I've been working on this chapter since JULY if you can believe it. That's the longest I've ever taken writing a chapter. Anyways, I hope you like it. I'm moving back towards my initial goal of a Rei-centric story (darn other characters, trying to horn in). So here we are, Rei's trapped with a shirtless Heero (lol) and we're moving into a different phase of the story! Finally! Some sort of semblance of a plot! What is going on? Only I know (I think). Please bear with me, I'm so determined to finish this but I got another job so I don't know if that's gonna help me or hinder me (I've been writing this instead of prepping lessons). Drop me a line, I love feedback! I'm hoping to have the Rei-Heero in the closet chapter up by Valentine's Day but please don't hold me to that, I'm very busy right now. Ok, time for bed!

Ying Fa


	14. To See the World in a Grain of Sand

Disclaimer: Same as always

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter 13

To See the World in a Grain of Sand

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Looks like we're going to be here for a while," Heero told her, heading back to where she was seated, "Do you have a hair tie or something similar?"

Surprised at the seemingly random question, Rei nodded and reached around; grabbing the end of the braid that she had wound her hair into before the gym period. Pulling off the tie, she offered it to him, "What are you going to use it for?"

While she had been doing this, Heero had grabbed a broom and one of the dirty rags that had been lying around. Using her hair tie, he attached the rag to the end of the broom and wedged it through the tiny space he had managed to get the door to move. When it was in place, it sat several feet off the ground, over the top of whatever was blocking the door. "When someone sees that," he answered her, settling down beside her, "They'll know that someone is trapped here and hopefully let us out. It's probably pretty chaotic out there right now. Unless you have your phone on you?"

She shook her head, "No, it's in my locker with my other stuff. Hopefully someone will notice we're missing soon."

She shivered again uncontrollably, finally reacting to her injury. Heero noticed this along with the glazed cast her eyes were starting to take. "Rei," he said firmly, gently easing her onto his lap and forcing her to look at him, "You need to focus. Don't go into shock on me now. Focus. Tell me something, anything."

Her eyes cleared somewhat as she looked into Heero's own, "If I tell you something, will you tell me about this whole deal you have about the dodge ball game?"

"Deal," Heero replied immediately, relieved that she was lucid and willing to talk. He figured the other pilots would most likely be investigating the explosion rather than looking for them so he had to keep Rei's mind off her injury for as long as he could. Also, being so close to her was…nice. He felt warm, something he couldn't remember feeling in a long time.

Rei locked her violet eyes on his Prussian ones and began speaking, her gaze never wavering as her tale unfolded, "For as long as I can remember, I've always been … different. When my mom was alive, she used to tell me that I was special, that my abilities were a gift from the gods. After she died, they became my curse. You know a little about my relationship with my so-called father. He didn't want a freak for a child so I was sent to live with my grandfather. I thought things would be better there, and for a while, they were. I was eight years old. One day, a couple came to the shrine to ask the gods for guidance. Their daughter, a young girl around my age, had been kidnapped. She had been on her way home from school and someone had snatched her. As they spoke with my grandfather, I was overcome with the strangest sensation. I knew Heero. I knew where she was. I could describe every detail as if I was there. I told my grandfather, I insisted. Finally, the woman convinced her husband to at least have the place I was describing checked out. The girl was returned home and her abductor arrested within twenty-four hours. Her parents swore to my grandfather that my involvement would never get known but within a week, the shrine was besieged by people wanting to use my abilities for themselves. Wanting to use me, drain me away until there was nothing left. But it doesn't work that way. My grandfather protected me as best he could and the initial furor died down after I didn't perform any other miraculous finds like the first one but that label has never left me. The creepy psychic girl from Sendai Hill. Teller of fortunes and finder of lost things."

As she finished, she broke her gaze, bitter tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Heero's mind was churning at these latest revelations of Rei's past. To be so burdened at such a young age was definitely something he could relate to; along with having to hear the weight of others' expectations. Like Rei, Heero had isolated himself from the world around him, causing people to believe him cold and emotionless. He wasn't emotionless; he simply compartmentalized his feelings so that they wouldn't get in the way of what he needed to do. However, now wasn't one of those times. Wrapping one arm around her and using his free hand to lift her chin so that she was looking at him again, he asked softly, "We had a deal, remember? It's my turn to share so I expect your full attention, I gave you mine."

Rei nodded, intrigued by this shift in Heero's usual demeanour. "The reason why I was surprised you were able to dodge me so well is because I'm a Newtype."

"What's a Newtype?" Rei questioned.

Heero arched a brow but kept from immediately questioning her as to why she didn't know such common knowledge. He'd have to do a little more digging later on. "Back when we were first colonizing space, it was found that couples were having trouble conceiving up there. Most colonists had to resort to having kids through artificial means. For example, Quatre has 43 sisters, all test tube babies. Now, as people began to adjust to being in space, they began to be able to conceive naturally, but this was actually a fairly recent development. A lot still go the test tube route. The technology is quite advanced nowadays. As the children conceived naturally in grew older, a small percentage began displaying abilities beyond that of their earth-born or artificially-conceived counterparts. Some were enhanced physically while others were changed mentally. It was a very small percentage and there seems to be no pattern as to why these children specifically were changed. For the most part, if a Newtype has offspring, their children will have Newtype abilities as well."

"So you…" Rei began.

"I'm stronger and faster than the average person," Heero replied, "I also have advanced reflex ability and reaction time which is why…"

He cut off before he could complete that thought. He could hardly tell her that that was one of the reasons why he had been chosen to pilot a Gundam.

"Which was why?" Rei continued, looking at him inquiringly.

"You shouldn't have been able to beat me," he completed, looking squarely at her.

_He's lying, _Rei thought to herself, surprised, _That's not what he meant. He was going to say something else, I'm sure of it. But why? He was telling me the truth about the whole Newtype thing so why lie now?_

Wincing slightly as she shifted to get more comfortable, she accidentally jarred her bad ankle. As she let out a little gasp of pain, Heero's arms came around her a little more closely to stabilize her. Almost immediately, she could feel a lessening of the pain. "Tell me something else Heero," she pleaded, "You're a good distraction. When you're talking to me, I forget how much my ankle hurts."

She was rewarded with a nod and the tilting up of the corners of Heero's lips. This sent butterflies shooting through her stomach, banishing even more of the pain from her mind.

Heero fought to concentrate on what to tell her. His own ankle had begun to ache, p_robably from sitting like this so long_. But no matter what he tried, it wouldn't stop from hurting. Finally, he just ignored it, dismissing it into another section of his mind to be dealt with later. Returning his focus to her eyes, he decided to tell her a little more about himself. "Like you," he began slowly, "For as long as I can remember, I've been different. I never knew my parents; I'm not even sure what my real name is. The wars were a confusing time for a lot of people. I was raised by a man named Odin Lowe. I took his name and he taught me his profession. He was an assassin, and as a child, I didn't play. I learned to assemble and disassemble various forms of weaponry, how to create and defuse explosives, and how to become an expert marksman. When I was twelve, he got caught and killed. After that, I wandered; I was lost, without direction, without purpose. I didn't want to follow in his footsteps, killing people for a price. Eventually, I joined the war on the side of the colonies, taking on the name Heero Yuy; the name of a famous pacifist, ironically enough. Odin Lowe disappeared slowly over the course of the war, becoming who I am today."

Rei reached up and laid her hand against his cheek, "Oh Heero…"

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" a voice called from outside.

"Yes!" Heero called back quickly, "We're stuck in here. One of us is injured also."

"Heero?" the now familiar voice replied, "Is that you? Who're you stuck in there with?"

"Just get us out of here Duo," Heero ground out, "Now. Otherwise, your braid won't survive the night."

"Fine," Duo yelled, "Just give me a minute."

Heero returned his attention to Rei. "Of all the people who had to find us," he muttered, "It had to be Duo. I don't think you'll be able to stand with that ankle though, I better carry you."

Rei flushed darkly, glad that Heero wouldn't be able to see in the dim light. "I guess you're right," she replied, "But we should find Hotaru right away so that she can fix it."

"Agreed," Heero told her, slowly easing himself out from underneath her, "Ready?"

At her nod, he slid one arm behind her back and one under her knees and scooped her up bridal style. "It'll be easier if you put your arms around my neck."

Just as she got settled in this position, a large screech sounded, indicating that the lockers blocking the door had been moved. Heero stood and straightened up just as the door swung open to not only reveal Duo, but Makoto as well.

"Hey Hee-man," Duo babbled as he sauntered into the room, "I found Makoto here to help move the lockers and you should have seen it. This chick's really strong and…"

His mouth dropped open at the sight before him. Heero, shirtless, stood before him, carrying Rei, who appeared to only be wearing his jacket. He floundered, unable to process what for him was sensory overload. Makoto was similarly afflicted, her eyes as round as saucers at having caught her fiery friend in such a compromising position. Heero rolled his eyes at the two and pushed past them into the hallway, careful not to jar Rei's injury. Mutely, the other two followed him out, still in shock at the unusual situation.

"Duo, I need you and Makoto to find Hotaru and bring her up to our dorm," he told the pair, "Also, if one of you could get Rei's things out of her locker. We'll meet you up there."

Turning away, he headed off to the dorms without confirming that they understood their orders. Peeking over his shoulder, Rei was glad to see Makoto smack Duo upside the head and set him to work. Her attention was diverted when she and Heero began crossing the main courtyard to get to the dorms. A man and a woman, not much older than them, intercepted them, leaving them no choice but to stop. "Yuy," the white-haired man said gruffly, "What's going on?"

"Zechs," Heero replied reluctantly, "Noin. Unknown. I was trapped in a closet at the time of the explosion. My…friend…was injured. I'm taking her to get it looked at."

"Your _friend_?" the woman, Noin, repeated incredulously.

"The infirmary is the other way," Zechs said, a frown on his face, "Here, give her to me, we'll take her there and you can join the others."

He reached out his arms as if to take her from Heero. Surprising all of them, Heero took a step back, grim determination on his face. "Don't touch her," he growled.

"Excuse me?" Zechs asked, shocked.

"I said don't touch her," came the dark reply, "You don't get to touch her."

Noin placed a hand on Zechs' shoulder. "It's okay Milliardo," she said, eyeing Heero with interest, "Let him take care of her. We can go check on the others ourselves."

Giving them a final, searching glance, Zechs allowed himself to be led away. A few moments later, Noin turned back around to offer a final comment, "By the way Heero, you should probably get checked out yourself. You're limping."

_What was that about?_ was the thought that resounded in all their minds, for different reasons.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Goodness, look at me…TWO updates in a single month! I really don't like marking. lol. Happy Valentine's Day! I came through! I know it's not the most romantic of chapters but it does have its moments. It's not as long as the last chapter either but I wanted to get it up for today. It's a lot of exposition, I know, but it's necessary. Rei and Heero are sharing, communicating, that's important in a relationship. Heero was channelling Mako from _W Juliet_ towards the end there. And I posted even though I only got like, 5 reviews and like 70 hits or something like that. I'm glad that I'm hearing from some people though. Please continue, and feedback is good. It's nice when you tell me you like the story or chapter, but please tell me what it is that you like, what's working, what's not working. I worry that I might be repeating things. Anyways, the stuff about Heero's past and about Newtypes I actually RESEARCHED! It's the teacher in me. Thanks to the folks at Wikipedia for the help. Although, I might have fudged some of the details to suit my story. So tune in next time, hopefully it will be soon! Oh yeah, and the chapter title comes from one of my favourite poems by Milton.

Ying Fa


	15. Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Disclaimer: Same as always

Brothers and Sisters

Chapter 14

Meanwhile…Back at the Ranch…

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

'_What was that all about?'_

"Who were they Heero?" Rei asked quietly as they continued on towards the dorms.

"Don't worry about them Rei," he replied, "They won't bother you."

"That wasn't what I asked."

Heero sighed internally; she wasn't going to let this go, "That was Milliardo Peacecraft, Relena's brother, and his partner Lucrezia Noin. They both work for the Preventers. They're probably here responding to the explosion."

"Preventers," Rei mused, "I vaguely remember hearing something like that. What do they do?"

Heero hesitated for a moment. First, she knew nothing about Newtypes and now this? Rei didn't strike him as the type of person who would be ignorant of major world issues. He would have to do quite a lot more digging when I had the chance. "The Preventers," he answered, choosing his words carefully, "are an organization that was formed after the Colony Wars. They monitor and deal with people and situations that threaten the peace in the newly formed Earth Sphere Alliance."

Rei nodded, deep in thought, _'It makes sense, but, why did they seem to know Heero so well? And why did Heero react so badly to Milliardo? I can feel that it has nothing to do with Relena so what is it?'_

After a few more minutes of walking in silence, Rei voiced the only question she felt she could actually ask him, "Why did you call him Zechs?"

Heero's eyes flashed with an unreadable emotion. "I told you that I fought in the war," he said tightly, "Well, he fought on the other side under the name Zechs Marquise. The Peacecrafts were renowned for their devotion to pacifism. Who ever heard of a pacifist piloting a mobile suit in the war?"

Rei absorbed the information but refrained from asking him what a mobile suit was. She had noticed his surprise when she had questioned him about what a Newtype was and who the Preventers were and she did not want to arouse any more suspicion in him. He was a little too perceptive for her comfort. She had been so busy looking for Wufei and getting ready for school that she hadn't done a whole lot of research into the world they now found themselves in. She would have to rectify that as soon as she could.

They arrived at the suite that the five boys shared without any other interruptions. Entering the living area, Heero noted that none of the others had returned yet. _'That explosion, it wasn't an accident,'_ he thought grimly, _'The others must still be investigating.'_

Going past the couch, he headed towards his room. At Rei's questioning glance, he told her, "You'll be more comfortable there. At least until Hotaru arrives."

He bent down, laying her on the bed on top of the covers, carefully arranging a pillow under her leg to support her injury. The moment he released her, Rei cried out, the initial pain in her ankle rushing back full force. In a flash, Heero was back at her side, placing a hand on her shoulder in concern. At his touch, the pain receded once more to a manageable level. Rei shut her eyes and grabbed his free hand within her own, unwilling to consider what this could mean. "Please," she whispered, "Don't leave. Stay with me."

Heero levelled a long look at her, weighing out the choice in his head. Finally, he sat on the bed beside her, placing their joined hands between them. She smiled softly at him in thanks and he felt his heart give a flutter. Without thinking, he began to lean down towards her. His eyes closed, and then…

"REI!"

Heero jerked back upon hearing Hotaru's frantic voice, but remained sitting where he was, still holding Rei's hand. "Where are you?" Hotaru called again.

"We're back here," Rei answered, shifting so that she was seated more fully.

The younger Chang paused on the threshold of the room, stopped by the sight before her. Duo, right behind, smacked into her. Turning, she shoved the braided man out the door, all the while apologizing, "Sorry Duo, but I need to take a look at my sister's injury. Kind of private, you know?"

"But why does Heero get to stay?" Duo whined plaintively through the door.

"Because I said so," Rei snapped out irritably, a faint blush on her cheeks, "Now go away Duo."

Hotaru turned and assessed the scene in front of her. "I'm sure that there's an incredible story behind this," she began, only to be cut off by Heero.

"She pushed me out of the way of a falling shelf. Her ankle is broken. I used my shirt to create a splint. End of story," he said shortly.

"Ah," Hotaru replied, looking mildly perplexed, "Well, let's take a look at that ankle then."

Carefully undoing Heero's handiwork, Hotaru got a close look at Rei's ankle; which was not a pretty sight. Grimacing, she looked back up at her sister to assure herself that she was ready. Rei wasn't looking at her though; her eyes were focused solely on the young man whose hand she currently had in a death grip. _'Interesting. Very interesting,'_ Hotaru thought to herself before laying a hand gently on Rei's ankle and allowing her power to flow through her.

Beneath her hand, skin and bone reknit themselves and were whole once more.

As this went on, Heero felt a strange lightening in his mind. Searching for the source, he realized that the ache that he had been feeling in his own ankle was gone. _'That ability of Hotaru's is amazing. It's almost like she's taking away my own pain as well."_

Hotaru sat back, her work complete, "There, how does that feel?"

Rei flexed the ankle back and forth experimentally. "Good as new," she replied, "But what are we going to tell people? A number of people saw Heero carrying me around."

"You could say that you've fallen madly in love and he was carrying you off to have his way with you," Hotaru said impishly.

Rei shook her head, her cheeks reddening, "How about not. You've been spending way too much time with Minako, little sister. Honestly, have his way with me? Who even talks like that?"

Heero strode over to his dresser and rummaged in the top drawer. He wouldn't admit it, but he had been strangely unsettled by the younger girl's words. Locating an Ace Bandage, he returned to the girls and handed it to Rei. "Here," he said quietly, "Nobody got a really close look at your ankle so use that and tell them it was a mild sprain. I was carrying you because I didn't want you to injure yourself further. That way in a couple of days you can be as good as new without anyone the wiser. Just don't forget to fake a slight limp the first day or so."

"That sounds like a workable plan," Hotaru put in.

Rei simply nodded and began to wrap the bandage around her ankle. "Wait," Heero stopped her, taking it away, "You're doing it wrong. Let me."

Taking her ankle in his lap, he wound the bandage around with care; neither of them seeing Hotaru sneak silently out the door, an enigmatic smile on her lips.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Meanwhile…back at the ranch (aka…the grand rewind…)_

Rei was about to head off to change herself when she was stopped by several of her fellow classmates wanting to congratulate her for her incredible display. _'Oyy,'_ she thought to herself, _'This is what I get for wanting to beat Heero.'_

"Poor Rei," Makoto said, shaking her head, "How is it that she always ends up with fanboys?"

"She must have done something in her former life that warranted it," Minako said brightly.

Makoto looked at their bubbly friend, unsure if she was being serious or sarcastic. "In any case," she continued, "I want to get some lunch and it doesn't look like Rei's going to be able to extract herself anytime soon."

Nods came from all the other girls. "Oi! Rei-chan!" Minako called out, "We're going to get changed now. We'll meet you at lunch!"

Rei's only reply was a 'you're-all-going-to-die-a-slow-and-painful-death-if-you-leave-me-here-with-these-morons' look. "See," Minako chirped, "She's fine. Let's go."

As they walked down the hallway, Hotaru spoke up, hesitation in her voice, "Are you sure we should have left her like that? She didn't look to happy."

To her surprise, it was Ami who replied, "I'd be more worried about them than about her. This kind of thing happens to her surprisingly often. Actually, maybe we should have stayed to make sure no one gets injured."

"Sheesh," Minako said, grabbing the two worriers' arms, "She'll be fine, they'll be fine. Don't be such Mother Ostriches."

"It's Mother Hens, Minako," Makoto said patiently, opening the door for the changing rooms, "_Hens._"

Hotaru gave a sigh of resignation, allowing herself to be pulled in. They were just about done changing when suddenly, a large explosion rocked the campus. "Crap," Makoto swore, "What the hell was that?"

"It sounded like it came from the gym," Ami replied worriedly.

"Rei!" Hotaru cried, heading for the door.

Smoke was drifting down the hallways and it seemed like panic had settled in among the students. Before the girls could get more that two steps away from the change room however, an instructor stopped them and began herding them back inside with a large group of other students who were in the hall. "It's best if we all stay put for now," he said cheerfully, "Everything will be fine."

"But I can't find my sister!" Hotaru said, an edge of panic creeping into her voice, "I think she might have been in the gym!"

"What?" came a familiar voice from the crowd of students still entering.

"Fei-chan!" Hotaru called out, relieved to see her brother, "Rei was still in the gym when we left. What if…"

In a surprising move, the self-proclaimed woman hater wrapped his arms around his younger sister and held on tight. "I'm sure she's fine Meimei (AN. _Chinese endearment for a younger sister_)," he said soothingly, "We'd know if something happened to her. We haven't just found each other to lose her now."

Ami looked on, shock etched on her face at seeing this side of Wufei. Releasing Hotaru, he looked around, spotting Quatre in the group of students. Giving the Arabian a slight nod of his head, he whispered, "I'll find her," to the youngest Chang and then moved into position as close to the door as possible.

Moments later, everyone's attention, especially the teacher's, was grabbed when the usually quiet, placid, Quatre Rababa-Winner launched into a full-blown panic attack. Only Ami's sharp eyes noted Wufei slipping out in the confusion, and coming to a decision, she slipped out after him.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Duo decided that this was a pretty shitty day. He came up with that conclusion all on his own, thank you very much. First, he got knocked out of the dodgeball match by a _girl _of all things (not that he took into too much consideration that the entire other team was composed entirely of girls); but then, he had to be the one to evade the teacher post-explosion. Therefore, while the other guys got to hang out in the Girl's change room, he was stuck with investigating the source of the blast. Hopefully, one of the others would break out of there soon, because, coming upon the site of the incident, only one thought popped into Duo's mind, 'Damn...what a mess."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Trowa, like his comrade Duo, was not very impressed by the events of the day. However, unlike Duo, Trowa was focused on work and quickly made his way to the scene of the explosion, skillfully evading the various teachers who were trying to corral students into rooms.

The scene upon entering the gym was that of complete chaos. One corner was completely decimated, debris scattered everywhere. From what he could see, there appeared to be no one caught directly within the blast as there was no one desperately sifting through the rubble; but there were still quite a few injuries. Slowly edging closer, he realized that the blast radiated from a single point near the northeast corner of the gym. 'They must have used quite a large amount of combustible to get this much destruction from a single blast point,' he thought to himself.

"Smells like plastique," a familiar voice commented from directly behind him.

"Duo," Trowa acknowledged, "One of these days, you're going to get shot trying to sneak up on one of us like that."

"Just keeping your skills sharp," the braided pilot replied cheekily, "What's the prognosis?"

"Single device. High yield. Professional job, no doubt about it," Wufei answered, coming upon his fellow pilots, "There's peripheral damage to the outlying areas as well."

"That sounds about right," Trowa agreed, "Where are the others?"

"Quatre is creating a diversion and I haven't seen Heero since before the blast," Wufei said, bending down to examine a piece of the debris.

"That's weird," Duo mused, "He's usually the first one here in things like this, I'm going to go look for him."

"We need to be investigating this," Trowa reminded him.

"I'm sure you two will do just fine without me," Duo answered, turning and leaving the two behind with a cheery wave.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ami stayed as still as she possibly could as Duo passed by her hiding place behind one of the vaulting horses. She wasn't as close to the three guy's conversation as she had wanted to be but she had still picked up some very interesting information. 'These students know way more about explosives than they have any reason to,' she thought to herself, 'And why haven't they been shuffled off to one of the rooms for safekeeping yet?'

Watching the remaining two begin searching for any sort of evidence among the ruins of the gym, she pulled her mini-computer out of her subspace pocket and began an investigation of her own. The results however, were something entirely unexpected. While the explosion itself was clearly your run-of-the-mill plastic explosive, the yield used should in no way have been able to create this much destruction. It was the odd energy signature that coated the majority of the assorted shrapnel that caused her worry. Every single piece of debris that had been directly involved in the blast had a definite magical signature emanating from it. 'The explosion was magically enhanced,' she thought in surprise, 'I'm almost sure of it. I need to get Rei in here to confirm it; but, I thought there was no magic present in this dimension.'

Her thoughts were interrupted when two official looking people entered the gym. "Barton, Chang, what the hell is going on here?" the male asked, "We just ran into Yuy and he was acting strangely. Please tell me you have something for me."

"Zechs," Trowa acknowleged, "It looks like we're dealing with a professional. There's only one blast radius but we have enough here for the lab to get a reading on what was used and how much. It's strange though, it doesn't look like there was a big enough charge to do this kind of damage."

"We'll put a rush on the analysis," the woman with Zechs responded, "The rest of the team should be arriving any minute."

Ami took this as her cue to sneak out as silently as possible. As much as she wanted to hear more, it wouldn't be worth getting caught. She had enough to think about as it was.

Wufei was busy trying to listen to what Noin was saying when he saw a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to look however, there was nothing there. 'Must have been my imagination.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Duo's mind was busily working over the various scenarios that could possibly have lead to this point as he exited the gym. With all the precautions they had taken, how had someone managed to get a bomb onto the grounds of the school, let alone as close to Relena as they had. This was merely a warning, he was sure of it. If they had managed to get past all of them to get this close, the fact that nobody had been killed was _not_ a coincidence. He continued to turn over the different occurrences of the past few months in his head when suddenly he paused. Backing up a few steps, he stopped to examine what had caught his attention.

All along the hallway, things were in disarray; books and papers scattered, ceiling tiles fallen, lockers tipped. It was one of the last things that he was noticing now. A large bank of lockers had somehow shifted, then tipped on its' side. That wasn't the interesting thing for him though. Just behind the lockers, he could see the top of a door, from which what appeared to be a broomstick flying a white shirt fastened by a red scrunchie protruded.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" he called.

"Yes!" came a voice Duo was familiar with, "We're stuck in here. One of us is injured also."

"Heero?" he replied, surprise evident in his voice, "Is that you? Who're you stuck in there with?"

"Just get us out of here Duo," Heero's voice returned, sounding threatening, "Now. Otherwise, your braid won't survive the night."

"Fine," Duo yelled, "Just give me a minute."

Duo looked around for something to help him move the locker bank away from the door. Stepping back, he spotted a familiar looking brown ponytail disappearing around another corner. Making a quick decision, he darted after her, catching up with her quickly. "Makoto!" he called, grabbing her arm.

He was immediately shocked to find himself sailing through the air. "Oh, shit! Duo!" Makoto said, a frantic note in her voice, "Sorry, sorry...you just grabbed me and..."

"No," Duo replied when she extended a hand to help him up, "I got it. I understand. Actually, I think you gave me an excellent idea. C'mon."

Upright, he grabbed her arm again and dragged her back to the storage closet. "Duo, I'm actually looking for Rei right now," Makoto protested, "We haven't seen her since gym ended."

"I'll help you look for her in a minute," he replied, "Heero's trapped in here and I can't move this by myself."

"Fine," Makoto sighed, "But then you have to help me find Rei."

Duo propped himself against one side of the lockers and Makoto took a spot beside him. "On three," she instructed, "One, two, THREE!"

With a squeal, the lockers slid backwards, causing the door to swing open and the stick to fall to the ground with a clatter. Giving Makoto a grin, he pushed the door the rest of the way open and headed in.

"Hey Hee-man," Duo babbled as he sauntered into the room, "I found Makoto here to help move the lockers and you should have seen it. This chick's really strong and…"

His mouth dropped open at the sight before him. Heero, shirtless, stood before him, carrying Rei, who appeared to only be wearing his jacket. He floundered, unable to process what for him was sensory overload. Makoto was similarly afflicted, her eyes as round as saucers at having caught her fiery friend in such a compromising position. Heero rolled his eyes at the two and pushed past them into the hallway, careful not to jar Rei's injury. Mutely, the other two followed him out, still in shock at the unusual situation.

"Duo, I need you and Makoto to find Hotaru and bring her up to our dorm," he told the pair, "Also, if one of you could get Rei's things out of her locker. We'll meet you up there."

As they walked away, Duo muttered under his breath, "How is it that Heero ends up with the half-naked hot chick in his arms and the rest of us get relegated to the crappy jobs."

Makoto, hearing clearly what he said, smacked him soundly upside the head. "Don't be an ass, Duo," she told him firmly, "Come on, Hotaru's still in the change room with the others. I'll grab Rei's stuff on the way."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

AN. I'm back and working on this story, BM and two new ones that are Rei-Jed centred. One's a crossover and one isn't. However, those new ones aren't going up until I finish my current ones. Sorry to the readers without accounts. I have since disabled anonymous reviews from my stories after receiving a really rude review from some person telling me that I should burn in hell for my work. Honestly, that's an extreme reaction and all I have to say to that is grow up. You don't like what I'm writing, don't read it but you have no right to say things like that to me or to anyone. I have since deleted that review from my account. This is the last that I will talk about this matter. I hope the rest of you enjoy the chapter and in case you didn't realize, the second half is what went on while Rei and Heero were in the closet.


End file.
